Swordtale
by Merodach the Original Sin
Summary: An amnesiac ten year old Magus in training Emiya Shirou finds himself the eight human being to ever enter the Underground. With his past lost to him, the young Magus sets out on a journey where he and his ideals will be tested. One thing is certain, no matter what he is fighting for, he has to stay determined. This is the tale of a Sword lost in the Underground. AU. Slow updates.
1. Welcome to the Underground, my Child

**SWORDTALE**

 **Chapter 1: Welcome to the Underground, my Child.**

My eyes snap open wide, awoken from my slumber, and I gaze in awe at the full midday sun looming overhead. I am directly gazing at it, and in spite of the fact that the sun has never looked so bright and beautiful to my sight before, its light does not burn me as the memory of this image is instantly seared into my recollection.

That instant appears to last an eternity in my mind.

Then the moment passes, and I gasp in pain and discomfort as soul searing agony surges throughout my body.

"Uh, gah…!"

My eyes slam shut, the image of the sun replaced by the darkness of my eyelids as I trash on the ground in what felt like a bed of flowers. My Magic Circuits, all of them, blaze with power – pure, unadulterated power in quantity and quality my body should never have been able to produce without killing me outright - as energy surges through the channels of power and into my body. Said body burned as thirty-five Magic Circuits burn, producing enough heat to boil my blood.

And beside the burning sensation of my Circuits, I can feel my eyes ache as if someone was forcing two spinning drills into them, my brain pound as if someone was using a jackhammer on the inside, a weariness seep through my body and into my bones as something basic yet fundamental inside of me shifts, breaks, and reforms.

It feels like I am being burned both from within and without, a sensation that is hauntingly familiar.

I do not know for how long I trashed on the ground, Prana surging through my Magic Circuits in such amounts that I should have been dead a thousand times over, and I realize with a thought that is simultaneously distant and yet clear that I _should_ be dead before my Circuits snap close and magical energy stops rampaging through my body.

I lay there for a short while, comforting sunlight bathing my body, gasping for breath as the pain that has been my constant companion for who knows how many minutes – hours, days, weeks? – slowly, torturously ebbs away to be replaced by a blessedly dull ache I can ignore.

Slowly, I get up in a sitting position, my eyes opening as I watch my surroundings, on alert for any kind of threats.

As I had faintly recognized when I had been writhing on the floor, I had been laying down on a bed of flowers. Said flowers have golden petals and are of a kind I had never seen before. The flowers nearest to me, those I had been laying on and those in my direct vicinity, had been burned to a crisp, showing a human shaped imprint in the bed of flowers. There were even long, shallow gashes of flower ashes in wide circles around me where the Prana had surged out of and around my body.

I realize instantly that in spite of the sunlight bathing my recovering form that I am not outside. Sheer walls of solid rock surround me in a rough circle, reaching for the sky in a concave shape, the walls inching closer and closer together the farther they stretch upwards. Only a small circular hole at the very top of the apparent cave that I am in allows the warm sunlight to stream in. Surrounding me decrepit, archaic pillars fill the rather large space, ivy winding its way up their old forms in spindly patterns.

These pillars, which somewhat remind me of Greek architecture yet different all the same, are in various states of disrepair. About half a dozen are being eaten away at by age. What had once been pristine surfaces having been dulled, darkened and chipped by the elements, but they are still standing strong in the defiance of the passage of time. Others had broken, their top halves having collapsed at some point with their bottom halves still rooted to the ground like the bifurcated trunk of a tree. There are even pillars that have fallen down entirely, their forms laying in chunks on the ground. Dust is thick in the air, the sunlight reflecting off of it and painting it golden.

Seeing that no one else but myself is around and that I am safe, I turn by attention to my own body, only to be puzzled at what I found.

With the amount of Prana my Circuits had been channeling just moments ago, I should have by all rights self-combusted. There should at least be some internal hemorrhaging from the sheer heat produced, but as far as I can tell my body is fine, with only some weariness and a swiftly receding throb of pain to attest to what had just happened.

Even more surprising is the fact that my Circuits hadn't been damaged. They were closed now, so no energy is currently flowing through them, and I am somewhat hesitant to open them again after what had just transpired, but I could _feel_ that they are in pristine condition.

The sheer volume of energy that had been raging through said channels of magical energy was far beyond me – I knew this instinctively to be true. By that logic, coupled with the rule that magic beyond the caster's ability could very well end up crippling them, if not kill them, my Circuits should have at the very least received some damage.

But they haven't. As far as I can tell, both my body and my Circuits are perfectly fine.

Confused but relieved, I was about to do a more in depth scan on my body and Circuits, only to pause as I see something that confounds me.

"What… the hell."

My awed whisper slices through the almost oppressive stillness of the cave that I find myself in.

Slowly, disbelievingly, my hands, which I only now notice are covered by a set of bare, black leather gloves, come up to cup a red sphere of pure energy swirling a few inches in front of my chest. It is about the size of a softball, and even though the energy inside of it is swirling in incomprehensible patterns, the size, shape and volume of the sphere remained constant, even as immense, unfathomable energy rages inside of it.

The moment my fingers touch the red sphere I feel a pleasant warmth settle inside of me and a brief jolt run through me as my Circuits snap open, producing a tiny trickle of Od of such quality – though, thankfully not anywhere near as much as just now – that I, a first generation Magus, should never have been able to produce.

I can feel my eyes burning for a brief instant before my vision shifts in some incomprehensible way, though I barely pay attention to it.

Instead, all my attention is focused on the crimson sphere of pure power in front of me. No, it is not just pure power. There is much more then mere power. There is a story there, too. My story. The story of Emiya Shirou - or to be precise, the culmination of my being.

In this sphere somehow, someway, I can see everything that I currently am. My most distinctive traits that make up the whole of my being, determination chief among them, that which defines me as a person are laid out in front of me to observe without obstruction.

I see pure Steel hidden away deep inside of it.

And with dawning comprehension, I realize what I am looking at.

"My SOUL... this is my SOUL," I whisper, though not in disbelieve, because I somehow _know_ this to be true.

How is this possible? The SOUL is the second element and is independent of the body, not belonging to the same material world. The SOUL acts as a record of the body containing the memories, mind, and Magic Circuits, one that in the strictest sense of the term does not exist in the lower planes of reality. Nothing mundane can affect a SOUL in any meaningful way. Even precious few Magecrafts are capable of such a feat. To even gaze at a SOUL one needed highly specialized equipment.

But now, in some way that I cannot understand, I can see my own SOUL as clear as day.

And as I look at it, facts about myself start appearing in my mind. My name is Emiya Shirou and I am ten years old. I was born and raised in Fuyuki, though I haven't been there for quite some time, and I have already been training for years to become a powerful Magus in order to fulfil my dream of becoming a Hero of Justice.

All because I... all because I...

I suck in a deep breath as I realize that I do not remember.

Deep down, I know that I want to be a Hero of Justice, but the reasons and motivations behind those emotions are missing entirely from my recollection. Try as I might, I cannot recall what send me down the path of Magecraft and heroism in the first place. And with dawning fear and horror I realize that I am missing much more then just that.

Entire years are missing from my recollection. Except for some general and basic things about myself, some basic spells and general knowledge known to most Magi, I remember almost nothing of my past and who I am, which scares me enough to feel as if the cold hand of death has taken hold of my heart and is squeezing it in its fist. Said heart is beating wildly and I break out in a cold sweat, while my SOUL in front of me that I am still cupping in my hands gives a painful looking throb, reacting to my distress and fear.

I also can't remember how I ended up here, wherever here even is. Strangely, or maybe not so strangely, that scares me even more.

And at the same time, something else equally confuses and unsettles me as my Circuits continue to produce a tiny, but an extremely high quality of Od.

 _Power._

That's the first thought that comes to my mind as I mentally touch upon my Circuits. Pure, unadulterated power. Though the amount of Od, or Inner Energy, that is currently flowing through my Circuits is small, little more then a trickle, the energy produced is of such quality and concentration that I could enact _multiple_ high level Mysteries with it. And if what I am currently feeling is correct, my Circuits aren't anywhere close to producing to their maximum output. Not even a thousandth from what I can tell.

I swallow as the sensation flows over me. Even with my memories as messed up as they are right now, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my reserves and the quality of my Circuits shouldn't come anywhere close to what I am feeling now.

I am hesitant to admit it to myself, but all these factors combined has sent my mental state far past scared and firmly into terrified.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I take a deep breath, and I with all the focus required in order to be able to use even the tiniest sliver of Magecraft, I take hold of my emotions and will my fear away. Now isn't the time to be scared. Now is the time to assess my situation and my options with a calm and focused mind.

Immediately, my breathing slows down and a calm surety settles over my mind. My heart has stopped beating a tattoo against my skin, and is now beating a calm and almost soothing rhythem.

I briefly think to myself that it is odd that I, a ten year old - Magus or not - am able to control my emotions so effortlessly, but I don't dwell on it. I have much bigger things to worry about.

Like figuring out what exactly I do and don't remember.

I search my mind.

Okay, to summarize. I know my name, age, and identity. I also know that I am a first generation Magus, what that entails, and that I have been training for years, but not for how long exactly, and - this makes me grimace - what I have been taught and by who.

My grimace grows stormy at the realization that while I remember that I am a Magus, important information about me as a person and my Thaumaturgy are missing from my recollection. For example, what my Element and Origin are. Those two things are kind of essential for anyone who fancies themselves a Magus.

I also can't remember my family - or the fact if I even have a family in the first place - and the motivations behind my dream and ideals.

It's odd that I have this all overpowering _need_ to see my dream fulfilled, even now that I can no longer remember why I have this dream in the first place. I guess that's just one thing that makes Emiya Shirou Emiya Shirou; an intrinsic part of me that can never truly be erased, missing memories or no.

Opening my eyes again, I sigh and take a single hand off my SOUL and wrack it through my bright red hair. I gaze at my SOUL, and briefly feel lost, not exactly sure what I should do now.

Well, first thing I should do is make sure that my body and Circuits are indeed fine. Just moments ago I only did cursory examination before I was distracted by the fact that I can somehow see my SOUL with my naked eyes, that my Circuits are far more powerful then they should be and by the fact that I am missing years worth of memories.

Swallowing heavily, I take my eyes of my SOUL and release my hold on it, my covered hands drifting to the plain, cross-shaped burned leather strap of my cloak in order to take it off, only to pause in confusion.

I hadn't noticed it up till now, but every single thing around me now has one extra feature that it originally didn't have when I first scanned this chamber.

Everything - and I do mean everything - now has a singular white dot in their center; from the pillars surrounding me to the golden flowers around me, except for those that have been burned to a cinder. Even the soil and the rock walls around me have white dots in them, spread out in an even spread in an odd, geometric pattern.

I also notice that the world around me is much more... defined is the only word that I can come up with to accurately describe it. Everything just seems more REAL, as if the world had been missing some color, or outline, and it was suddenly fixed. I have always had good eyesight, better then most people at least, but now my vision is so defined and sharp that I can almost make out and count every separate little bump on the stems of the golden flowers surrounding me.

I blink and my eyes burn for a second time as the small trickle of Od that has been leaking out from my Circuits ever since I laid my hands on my SOUL stops flowing, all my Circuits closing in unison. Once again, my vision shifts in a way I cannot describe, and the white dots in the center of every object gradually fade before disappearing entirely.  
My new clarity of perception of the world also gradually fades, regressing back to the level it has always been; sharp, but not inhumanly so.

My SOUL, however, remains visible.

What was that? What the hell is wrong with my eyes?

I shake my head and take a deep breath. Something else I need to check then, but first I need to make sure that I am physically fine before I do anything else.

Reaching up with my glove covered hands, I unclasp the brown cross-shaped strap keeping on the cloak that I am wearing. With ease that belies experience I shrug of the tan-colored cloak and pull my arms out of its sleeves. With the rustling sound of fabrics I pull said cloak of my body before neatly folding it and laying it down on the flowers beside me.

I briefly inspect the cloak. It is a rather simple thing in truth: the entire cloak has a uniform tan coloration, the attached hood is free of any decoration, and it is big enough to envelop my entire body when worn. I am sure that the somewhat tattered looking edges of the cloak would hang low enough to almost scrape over the floor when I walk.

And I don't know why, but for some reason I feel very fond of this rather plain looking cloak. I was somewhat hesitant to even take it off my person. Odd.

Next I reach for my T-shirt, which is equally plain; the short-sleeved T-shirt is entirely black except for the two thin, grey stripes at chest height. It matches perfectly with the black-colored jeans and sneakers that I am also wearing.

Again, I find myself pausing as my eyes catch sight of something that I do not remember anything about: a pendant hanging from my neck on a simple silver chain.

One of my hands grasps it and brings it up to eye level. The pendant is shaped in the form of a kite and is made out of black painted oaken wood. On both sides of the pendant's highest point a tin strip of silver metal travels from top to bottom, while another strip of the silver metal travels from the widest point to the other side horizontally, creating a silver cross on its front and back. A golden hinge on the right side keeps it locked shut.

I try to open it, but the golden hinge keeping the pendant shut stubbornly remains in place. I am certain that I can break it open if I tried hard enough, but the mere thought is enough to make me recoil; obviously, I have a clear attachment to this pendant, the reason of which escapes me.

Growling in frustration, I yank off the pendant and lay it down on the cloak. My T-shirt soon follows, neatly folded, exposing my bare chest to the world.

I decided not to remove the gloves from my hands. They wouldn't get in the way from what I am about to do.

I absently note that my skin is rather tan, as if I have spent the majority of my time the last few years outside, and that I am rather lean for a ten year old with barely any fat on my body. Admittedly, I barely pay attention to that as I take note of the small Magic Crest grafted to my chest.

My fingers absently trace the foreign lines fastened to my chest in the form of a simplistic magic circle, which is now slowly fading away from sight now that the inherited Magic Circuits are no longer actively in use. The inside of the circle, the spot where my SOUL is floating directly in front of, is entirely empty, and the Magic Circuits that came from another person spiral in tightly packed lines around that empty spot on my chest, forming my Magic Crest.

I frowned at it. Although I had no idea how I came to have this, I know exactly what this is and what it represents.

At its most fundamental, a Magic Crest is the crystallization of a line of Magi's research and personal family Craft. All the spells said family have either been able to obtain and/or create via their research are stored inside of the Crest, having been engraved into the previous holder's Circuits through some method I am not entirely aware of, with said Circuits having been given a more stable form so that they could be transferred to another Magus, similar to an organ transplant. Once transferred these Circuits act as a secondary source of power for the current holder. Another plus is that the possessor of said Crest doesn't need to understand the spells stored inside in order to be able to use them, merely needing to run their Od through the transferred Circuits and select a spell that has been stored inside and activate it, allowing the holder to bypass the incantations and rituals usually needed for said spells. As each successive generations heir of a lineage of Magi works on storing more Circuits, knowledge and spells into the repository of the Magic Crest, the greater the amount of spells, knowledge and power said lineage of Magi can boast about.

All told, I counted eight foreign Circuits fastened to my chest, supplementing the twenty-seven I was originally born with, which I knew was rather pathetic as far as Magic Crests went. Families that can trace their line back for over ten generations or more usually had Crests that are made up of more then a hundred Circuits. The amount of power and the sheer number of spells stored in a such a Crest, having been forged through a dozen generations of research and hard work, would be mindboggling. It is also a fact that the bigger a Crest was, the more stable it is and the easier it became to activate the spells stored inside. The small Crest I had was a pittance compared to that.

Which was not to say that it wasn't useful, though. If the Circuits making up this small Crest are of the same quality of my inborn ones than it would increase my reserves by almost a third, and depending on the spells stored inside my combat ability may be far greater with it then without.

Of course, the fact that I do not remember what said spells are kind of negated that. And since haphazardly experimenting with any kind of magic was practically a guaranteed death sentence, I wasn't very keen on the idea of simply running my Od through the transplanted Circuits, select a spell and see what happens.

Similarly, I am also confused how I came to have a Crest in the first place. I _know_ that I am a first generation Magus - wasn't I? - a person with no prior familial history in the magic arts to give me a head start and to further build on. Transplanting a Crest is very similar to transplanting an organ, though considerably more hazardous. Without a direct and close blood relation between the one giving it and the one receiving it the transplantation of a Crest - an inherently dangerous procedure on its own - is as far as I know impossible. Trying it would inevitably result in the death of the recipient and the utter and complete destruction of the Crest in question.

And yet I, who has no one from which I could inherit anything Thaumaturgy related from, has a Crest - small though it may be - to call my own.

Now I am even starting to question the things I _do_ seem to remember. Am I first generation Magus or the heir of a lineage of Magi? If that was the case then why is my Crest so pathetically small? Perhaps I am just the second or maybe even the third heir of my family and I do have a small lineage to further build my Craft on.

"Ugh," I groan. All this thinking is giving me a headache. Damn these spotty memories.

I shake my head in an effort to dislodge these frustrating thoughts. Focus, Shirou. First I got to make sure that I am fine before I do anything else.

Thankfully, I have the perfect spell for that. One that is so fundamental to me as a Magus that I could never forget it.

My right hand rises up and presses palm first against my chest just underneath my Crest. In my mind's eye the hammer of a gun is cocked back as I prepare myself to use the most basic and yet most important Thaumaturgy in my repertoire, the spell in which all my abilities as a Magus find their roots and that which is essential for the operation of my personal Craft. Without this spell, all the other Mysteries in my arsenal that I can remember right now would be unusable and worthless.

In the privacy of my own mind, I thanked my lucky stars that I haven't forgotten the fundamentals of being a Magus and the basis of my personal Craft.

And as the hammer of the gun slams home, a single Magic Circuit of mine snaps open to produce the tiny amount of Od necessary for the spell to function.

"Trace, On," I mutter underneath my breath as I close my eyes. "Structural Analysis."

Even with my memories as messed up as they are right now, this basic spell is so ingrained into me that even if I were to have lost the knowledge of it together with said memories, I am certain that I would still have been able to perform it on sheer reflex.

Structural Analysis is as basic as one could get with Magecraft. With its use a Magus can Grasp the inner structure and layout of any object that he or she targets as if they are viewing a blueprint of said object in their own mind. Most Magi used it strictly for that, but I have mastered this basic Mystery to the point that my personal version of it goes beyond the mere physical components of whatever I am targeting, but it also allows me to Grasp and understand an objects spiritual, magical, and even historical aspects to a certain extent.

And this is what I am using on my own body right now with a brief exertion of mental will and a bit of my Internal Energy.

A blueprint of all the mayor bodily systems appears in my mind. From the circulatory system, the muscular system, the nervous system, the respiratory system, my skeletal structure, more and the even the flaws in body are shown to me in great detail; in the blink of eye everything about my body's current state is revealed to me.

It was to bad that I can't Grasp any accumulated history from living beings. That would have solved the issue of my missing memories handily.

Before I can even start processing the information flowing into my brain my mind immediately notices something foreign in my body that should not be there. As I focus on it, my mind manages to pull up a hazy image of the object that is apparently conceptualized inside of me.

A blurred object, something made from gold and cobalt. Glorious light radiates from it, and as I gaze upon it I feel warmth settle over me, similar to when I took my SOUL in my own hands. And even though I have no idea what it is, this objects mere presence inside of me is somehow comforting to me.

I gaze upon it for some time before I reluctantly pull my mind away from it. Whatever this object is, I can't do anything about it right now. It is conceptualized inside of me and I have no clue how to go about removing it from my person. I couldn't even get a good reading on it with my Structural Analysis because conceptualized as it currently is my spell can't accurately latch onto it. Thankfully, whatever it is, its presence didn't appear to be harmful to me, so I felt comfortable leaving the object where it is for now.

I turn the focus of my spell back to my actual body. My mind rapidly shifts through the information that flows like water into my psyche.

Circulatory system is fine. My muscles are somewhat tired but overall healthy. Ditto for my skeletal, nervous, and respiratory systems as well. I sigh in heartfelt relieve as I realize that there is physically at least absolutely nothing wrong with me.

Now for the hard bit. Frowning, I concentrate the magic spell of Structural Analysis on both my natural Circuits and Crest.

My frown deepens.

I had noted earlier that my Circuits are far more powerful then I remember them being, their quality and output having soared far beyond what should be possible for me. My Mystery merely confirms that observation beyond a shadow of a doubt; if what my Structural Analysis has revealed to me is correct then the quality and output of my Circuits has increased more then a thousand fold compared to what it once was.

My Inner Energy, or life force, better known as Od, could once have been likened to a small stream of water. It had been small and finite, easy to access and harness, but also just as easily exhausted. Now it is more similar to the depths of the ocean, a fast reservoir of energy that I can tap into at my leisure without worries of exhausting myself for long, _long_ time. And there was also the added benefit that instead of regular, old water my Od was now analogous to extremely high quality and pure spring water. A single sip of which would be enough to hydrate a man lost in the desert, or in the case of Thaumaturgy, fuel several Mysteries at once without issue.

And although I'll admit that this sudden and massive increase in my power has me elated - having ready access to such high quality Od would do wonders for the development of my Thaumaturgy - it also has me concerned because of one exceedingly simple but underlying rule related to the miracle arts: Equivalent Exchange.

One could never gain more then what is given; that is an ironclad rule that is unbreakable to all forms of Thaumaturgy. What could I or somebody else have given in return in order to achieve such an unheard of result? By all accounts, a Mystery or ritual that could accomplish this should come along with an equally heavy price.

The second thing that I note is the differences between my inborn Circuits and my Crest.

Or the apparent lack thereof.

Output, quality, and composition. Despite the fact that both sets of Circuits came from different people, all these factors match perfectly. The only difference that I can perceive is that the Od that my Crest produces is different in some way that I cannot describe. The best analogy that I can think of is that the 'taste' between the two differing Ods is highly distinct from each other. And that is only because they come from two entirely different sources.

By all means there should be unmistakable differences between my inborn Circuits and my Crest. Having come from two different people the differences between the two should be stark. But as far as I can tell the only things that sets them apart is the 'taste' of the Od produced and the chance that my Crest might have spells stored inside.

"Ugh," I groan for a second time. Another mystery to throw onto the pile.

Mentally throwing the conundrum to the side, I once more delve into the information on my body that my spell is funneling into my brain, focusing on my eyes.

Again, what I find confuses and worries me.

A cursory Grasp confirms that my eyes are fine. There's nothing wrong with them as far as I can tell and me eyesight is 20:20. It's when I delve deeper that another mystery presents itself.

God, I really hope this is the last surprise. I am not sure if I could handle any more shocking revelations right now.

The inner structure of my eyes is completely mundane with nothing out of the ordinary. It's what _around_ my eyes that has me worried. The Circuits in that area around my eyes are positioned rather bizarrely, with two Circuits finding their way directly inside either of my eyeballs where they connect to the optic nerves and pupil.

The thought of eyes and Circuits combined does ring a bell, but for the life of me I do not remember what it could mean.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. Obviously, that knowledge is lost together with my memories.

I sigh loudly to myself and cut of my spell, the single Circuit I had active snapping shut. It's no use to worry about all that right now. Now that I know that I'm physically fine and that my Circuits are better then they have ever been it is now time to figure out where the hell I am and where I need to go.

I look up into the hole in the cavern's ceiling above me, warm sunlight shining down on me from above. I must have fallen through that hole when I first entered into this cave, but the hole is too high up and the cavern walls around me are to steep and smooth to try and climb my way back out even with the use of my Magecraft.

So that route is a no go. I look down the cavern past the flowerbed I am still sitting on and the pillars surrounding me and spy a relatively wide passageway that leads deeper into the cave. I take a deep breath and then release it. I just had to hope that said passageway leads to somewhere, or I might be in trouble.

I pull my black and grey T-shirt back on and slip the pendant's chain back around my neck. Then I don my cloak, slipping my arms back through the sleeves and tying down the cross-shaped strap to keep it on. Like I had suspected, when worn it completely hides my body from view.

With the hood down only my face, glove covered hands and my sneakers are visible.

A few inches away from the center of my chest my SOUL continues to float placidly. I look at it briefly, still not quite sure what to make of the fact that I can actually see my SOUL like this, but I brush it off. I can figure out later how this is possible; first I need to get to some place that I _know_ is save.

Standing up, I groan as my stiff body protest at the sudden movement. I should have known that would have happened after sitting still for so long.

Rolling my shoulders and clenching and unclenching my muscles in order to quickly force feeling back into them, I take a single step forwards off the flowerbed before hesitating. I am currently in unknown terrain and I have no clue where I am or where I am going, and even though the surrounding structures are in ruins that doesn't mean that there is no else but me here. And those other people might not be friendly. Going on unarmed in such a case would be the height of foolishness.

Looking around, I quickly spot something ideal for my needs. Taking a few steps to my left I reach down and pick up a plain, relatively long wooden stick.

As I turn the stick over in my hands I note its gnarled appearance. While it didn't look like the stick would snap at the faintest application of force, I know that it wouldn't take much for me to break it. Hitting it in just the wrong way would be more then enough to do so.

Thankfully, that is easily fixed for someone like myself.

"Trace, On," I intone, my psyche falling back into the mindset of a Magus.

I once again use the most basic Mystery in my arsenal, and everything about the stick's physical make up to some of its history is downloaded directly into my brain.

The stick I am currently holding in my hands came from a birch tree, having been knocked lose from said tree three weeks and two days ago due to a particularly harsh gust of wind. It's about 1.17 meters long and 1.87 inches thick with a an average circumference of 1.69 centimeters. Overall, the stick is rather solid with decay not yet having set in and there being only small structural weaknesses on the inside and outside, though there is a minor fault near the middle of the stick that is somewhat concerning.

Not for long, though. Now having a complete Grasp on the stick's existence, I immediately set to work altering said existence until it suits my needs.

Blue light dances in the palm of my hands, looking almost like skittering lighting as I take in Mana from the surroundings and transfuse the resulting Prana into the stick. Said piece of wood distorts in my grasp, blue energy enveloping it as I manipulate its mass and material as I please with my Mystery.

The stick elongates as its surface becomes smooth, polished wood in one sleek motion. The faults and breaks inside of it mend themselves at my mental command, unseen for everything but my own mind. The stumps on either end of the stick depress until they are completely and entirely flat.

I hum quietly to myself, pleased as I inspect the over a one and a half meter long staff in my hands. Alteration is such a handy little spell.

Holding the staff out in front of me with my left hand I expertly spin it like a whirlwind with nothing more then the dexterous movements of my fingers. The rapid passing of the altered piece of wood through the still air distorted the image of the world in front of me as the staff blurs and produces an insistent and constant whooshing sound that drowns out every other little noise in the cavern thanks to the incredible velocity it is moving at. Suddenly halting its movement, I firmly grab the staff in both hands to test how sturdy and balanced it is by taking on a combat stance and trying out a few experimental swings, the movement once again producing a loud whooshing noise.

Like I had expected, it is without fault and would serve its purpose well.

Stopping my impromptu kata's, I hold the staff in my left hand at the ready as I start walking. Now that I am armed I feel much better about heading into the unknown, ready to face down anything that I might encounter.

I enter the passageway and wander down the darkened hall, swiftly coming up to a doorway on my left. Briefly studying the archaic looking doorway, I take note of the old but relatively pristine looking slab of marble above it that has a rather odd looking symbol on it.

Painted entirely in white, the rather large mural was simultaneously simple yet deceptively elaborate. Above and center a perfectly spherical circle hovered between two large, stylized wings. Beneath it there are three triangles, with the one in the middle being inverted and placed a little lower then the other two.

I look at it for some time. Though I have never seen this symbol before - debatable, considering my messed up memories - I can tell that there is meaning, a story behind it. Something important, but since there is no way to figure out what exactly I continue on walking.

Taking another step, I pass through the doorway and cross the threshold.

Into the unknown with nothing more then an altered and enhanced piece of wood, my Thaumaturgy and highly questionable memories to protect myself.

My lips twitch as I _almost_ smile to myself. This nearly sounded like the start of a Hero's Journey, now didn't it?

* * *

Interlude: Resurrection.

 _Why am I alive? Our plan had failed, hadn't it?_

My eyes snap open - something that by all logic should never have happened anymore - and I gaze straight up at a pale, gentle light that streams down on me from above from no identifiable source. For a brief moment I am reminded of moonlight, which, I will admit, gives me far more comfort then I had expected it to.

I sit up and look around, and I am startled at what is around me.

Nothing.

That's the first thing that I see. All around me there is nothing more then uniform gray emptiness that seems to stretch out into eternity. An endless, colorless abyss that neither has a beginning nor end and could easily swallow the entire world in its fast desolation.

After a moment, I notice that my first assumption is not entirely correct. The spot that I am currently sitting on seems to be the only place in this strange world to possess any kind of real physical matter to it. Grass, shaded blue by the pale light, tickles my hands from where they are placed on the ground. Said ground, covered entirely by blue shaded grass, spans a relatively small area around me before suddenly going into a decline, sloping downwards as it continues to encroach into the emptiness that pervades this world. The further the Hill reaches into the void the more it loses cohesion and the less distinct it becomes, gradually becoming more and more non-existent and less real, for the lack of better term, until only hollow nothingness remains. This grass covered Hill I am on forms the only identifiable reality in this small world.

But as I look around, I become aware of the fact that there is more then just me, soil and grass in this world.

Swords.

And much, much more.

All around me bladed implements of all stripes are impaled into the ground, their killing edges stabbed into the soil with their handles pointed to the sky. The fast majority of the weapons that I could see are swords of more then a dozen different kinds, but I could also see spears, halberds, daggers, axes, knives and even a scythe or two.

If my eyes aren't deceiving me this otherwise empty world/armory contains _hundreds_ of weapons.

Where am I? Is this Hell? After what I had done to both myself and my brother, I most certainly deserve to be there.

I had to admit, though, that this is not what I had expected Hell to look like. After what I went through at that... village, spending a lifetime of forced solitude and boredom in this odd, almost entirely empty world could be considered a blessing.

I feel confused. Why and how am I here? I should be dead, and if I am is this the afterlife? For a dead kid I feel pretty norma-

No.

That's not entirely true.

Bodily and mentally I feel pretty normal, but emotionally there is something most definitely wrong.

I intellectually know that what I did to my brother and the atrocity that I committed before finding my way into the Underground should damn my SOUL more then a hundred times over. I know full well, though, that I never have and never will feel regret for the latter action, but the act that saw all me all but commit suicide and my brother sacrifice his own life to stop me from completing our plan should fill me with guilt of such magnitude that said emotion should define my entire being for the rest of eternity.

And yet it doesn't. I feel nothing, nothing at all.

Well, that is also not entirely correct. I did feel confused earlier, still am by the way, and I do feel comforted by the light shining down on me that reminds me of moonlight, so I am at least capable of feeling _something_ , but the emotion of guilt just doesn't seem to register at all.

For some reason I think I should feel bad about that, but I don't. How strange.

I stand up and look down at my body, and I feel relieved - heh, another emotion that I can feel - to see that I am back in my own body and that I am once again wearing my trusty old clothes: a lime and cream colored T-shirt, simple brown pants and shoes of almost exactly the same color as my pants.

I take a deep breath, and almost choke as a sensation, an emotion, so thick and strong envelops me that it I am essentially drowning in it

This feeling... this emotion... I know it more intimately then any other.

DETERMINATION.

That what defines me as a person permeates the air around me so thickly that I can feel it brush against my skin. The sensation is so familiar and comforting that it reminds me of a loving parent's hug.

I snort to myself. How could I be so oblivious? How could I not notice such a concentration of the feeling that forms the core of my being, the feeling that is the source of my powers? This world might appear to be an empty void except for this Hill of Swords, but it is in fact utterly filled with DETERMINATION.

And there are other emotions present too. Patience, Bravery, Integrity, Perseverance, Kindness, and Justice. All of these emotions fill this world in such amounts that I cannot miss them, even though they are barely perceivable under the smothering weight of the DETERMINATION that forms the very foundation of this reality.

I don't know how I am doing it exactly, but somehow, someway, I can understand and interpret the emotions and traits that make up this world. I am connected to this world in some manner that I cannot comprehend. And it's this fact that immediately makes it clear to me just how unbalanced this reality truly is.

Before I can finish this train of thought a cold shiver shoots up my spine as a... I wouldn't call it a gust of air; the sensation is entirely different and even the most frosty wind wouldn't be capable of chilling me right to the bone, make my thoughts freeze entirely and make me feel as if a lead weight has just been dropped on my chest.

I look up and take a fearful step back at what I see, eyes widening and a gasp escaping me.

A black hole.

That's the only thing I can liken it too. Above me, hanging far up in the utterly empty 'sky' and some distance away from this world's light source, a dark sphere about the size of a two story house looms silently over the Hill of Swords. No sound or phenomena originates from it, but it still makes me break out into uncontrollable shivers.

I swallow dryly as I continue to back away from it, primordial fear filling my gut as my gaze refuses to turn away from the black hole.

If one could liken the fast emptiness at the edge of this world to an endless abyss, then this... thing could be considered the dark nothingness at the very end of time. The air around the black sphere is utterly still, but a cold and empty sensation emanates from it that somehow transfuses throughout this world. The sparse 'moonlight' that reaches it dims and dies a few meters before reaching it, disappearing as it passes through whatever event horizon this strange black hole has, vanishing into the nothingness.

If the emptiness at the edge of this Hill can swallow a world, then this black hole can surely swallow an entire reality if given even half the chance.

It's because of the fact that I am connected to this world in someway that I do not fully grasp that I know that this dark thing is an alien entity, something that's not supposed to be here. But it is said same connection that also makes it clear that this black hole is nonetheless a part of this reality and equally connected to it like I am.

Frowning at the paradox, I stop backing up as the fear slowly ebbs away. Despite the empty sensation that originates from the black hole the realization that this world and the black hole are connected and that said black hole isn't some truly harmful, invasive force calms me down and banishes my unease.

Taking my eyes off of it, I glance around at my surroundings as I once more wonder what this strangely incomplete world and the strange phenomena, weapons and traits that make it up are and represent. That there is meaning and purpose in this world is abundantly clear but what that is escapes me and-

 _Looking around, I quickly spot something ideal for my needs. Taking a few steps to my left I reach down and pick up a plain, relatively long wooden stick._

I blink as a sight - or maybe a memory? - flashes before my eyes and interrupts my thoughts. What was that? What just happ-

 _I once again use the most basic Mystery in my arsenal, and everything about the stick's physical make up to some of its history is downloaded directly into my brain._

Falling on my ass as the sights and thoughts that felt like they are my own but at the same time aren't flash through my mind, I grab my head and desperately try to make sense of what's going on.

 _Now having a complete Grasp on the stick's existence, I immediately set to work altering said existence until it suits my needs._

What the hell is happening?!

 _I hum quietly to myself, pleased as I inspect the over two meter long staff in my hands. Alteration is such a handy little spell._

Spell? What spell? Humans aren't capable of magic.

 _Like I had expected, it is without fault and would serve its purpose well._

Breathing laboriously as the foreign thoughts, sights and emotions invade my mind and gradually replace my own perspective of reality, I fall back into the soft grass and once more look up into the source of the 'moonlight', the last vestiges of my own consciousness rapidly slipping away to be replaced with that of someone else.

 _I enter the passageway and wander down the darkened hall, swiftly coming up to a doorway on my left. Briefly studying the archaic looking doorway, I take note of the old but relatively pristine looking slab of marble above it that has a rather odd looking symbol on it._

The Delta Rune. The ancient symbol pulls up many memories, most of them good and one exceedingly bad as it is irreversibly tied to the greatest sin of my life. I wonder why it looks so faded and is not being taken care of, but the thought slips away as easily as the others.

 _Taking another step, I pass through the doorway and cross the threshold._

My thoughts and view of the world meld with that of whoever I am apparently connected to - the name Shirou slides through our joined minds - and I now see what he sees, taste what he tastes, smells what he smells, experience what he experiences and feels what he feels...

 _Into the unknown with nothing more then an altered and enhanced piece of wood, my Thaumaturgy and highly questionable memories to protect myself._

 _My lips twitch as I_ almost _smile to myself. This nearly sounded like the start of a Hero's Journey, now didn't it?_

My eyes close slowly and unlike Shirou I actually do smile to myself. Yes, it did.

* * *

The sounds of my footsteps echo lightly as I step through the dark entrance and come out into another short and narrow passageway with light visible at the end. My steps are sure and swift with grace I did not know I had but nonetheless comes as easy as breathing to me. I hold the staff in my left hand at the ready, all my senses on high alert and mentally having my finger on the hammer of the gun that would open my Circuits on the slightest sign that I need to protect myself with less then mundane means.

A small frown of confusion mars my face as I continue to walk.

I feel that I am being unreasonably paranoid keeping my guard up like this; there is no reason to belief that I am in any danger right this moment. And yet I still took the time to fashion myself a weapon at the earliest opportunity, which I am steadfastly keeping at the ready for a threat that I am fairly certain will not materialize. Yet something inside of me, something almost entirely instinctive, tells me that dropping my guard in any sort of situation, especially now, would be stupidity of the highest order.

One might argue that this would be the logical reaction to suddenly losing one's memories and being dropped into an unfamiliar place, but I feel that there is more to it then that. I am more inclined to believe that this is a taught behavior, not something that was brought on by the highly unusual situation and a couple of whims.

This state of mind, with my eyes peeled even if I can barely see in the darkness of the passageway, my senses focused, holding a weapon steady in my left hand and ready to use my Thaumaturgy on the slightest of triggers is not something that someone, especially a child my age, should be capable of doing as easily as I am right this moment.

A grimace replaces the frown on my face as I continue to walk. What kind of childhood must I have had to become so paranoid by nature? What kind of live could I have lived that I feel such paranoia but no real fear in this kind of situation? I am not sure I want to know the answer.

My thoughts on the subject come to an abrupt halt as I pass through the doorway and emerge back into the light. With an ease that no child my age should have I take in my surroundings, clinically observing everything of note while ignoring those things I deem inconsequential.

Like the cavern I had woken up in the chamber I am now is roughly circular, though it is somewhat hard to tell thanks to the dark shadows clinging stubbornly to the edges of the room. A single beam of lights falls through a crack in the ceiling, illuminating the doorway on the other side of the room, identical to the one I first passed through, archaic pillars and the mural bearing the odd symbol included, and a patch of lush grass in the center of the chamber on which...

I blink and frown, barely holding myself back from rubbing my eyes at what I see. Maybe there is something wrong with my eyes after all.

A single golden flower much like the ones that I had seen in the first chamber is rooted to the ground in the middle of the carpet of verdant grass. Exactly six golden petals surround its white androecium with a wiry, light green stem planted in the soil beneath it. Overall it looked like an ordinary flower in every respect, except for the fact that it has a pair of eyes and a tiny mouth that is currently pulled back into a small, friendly grin as it watches me.

"Howdy!" Was the polite and friendly reply that came from his - _its_ \- mouth and I barely manage to keep my disbelieve hidden at seeing a talking flower. I might be a Magus, but this was a whole new level of odd. "I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!"

The moment I have processed the flower's words and I had gotten over my brief burst of incredulity I instantly feel extremely weary of this irregular creature. I'm not the kind of person who will judge someone, or any kind of being for that matter, on their appearance alone, even if it is exceedingly strange, but the longer I look at this seemingly benign flower with a face the more I feel ill at ease. The mere sight of this 'Flowey' was enough to raise my hackles. This feeling ran far deeper then simple dislike.

"Hmm..." 'Flowey' made a slow pondering noise as he/it curiously looks me over. "You're new to the Underground, aren'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!"

My grip on my staff tightens and I tense at the words.

"I guess little old me will have to do," the flower says with that friendly tone of its and winks at me while sticking out its tongue. "Ready? Here we go!"

My right foot takes a step back, taking on a ready stance as small, rotating pellets of magical energy emerge from behind the flower's golden leaves and almost lazily drift up into the air. I counted about half a dozen, and though the energy in each individual pellet is small, it is incredibly concentrated and focused to a razor's edge.

"Down here in the Underground, someone's innate toughness is dependent on how powerful their SOUL is," Flowey explained, lecturing, though still sounding very friendly and open. "Your SOUL starts of weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV."

I frown. LV? Seeing my bemused expression, Flowey quickly expanded on its explanation. "What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don't you?"

Before I could tell the obviously bonkers flower that offering a complete stranger love in virtually any kind of context out of the blue was very strange, not to mention utterly disturbing because of a multitude of different reasons, the creature continues on without taking heed of my apprehension.

"Don't worry, I'll share some with you!"

I can see the concentrated pellets of magical energy behind Flowey's back start to spin faster and slowly tilt towards me, as if they are about to be fired right at me.

"Down here, LOVE is shared through..." Flowey continues to talk jovially, even as the pellets began the spin faster and faster. "Little white... 'friendliness pellets'. Are you ready? Move around! Catch as many as you can!"

I briefly wonder how stupid this talking flower thinks I am. As a Magus, I am sensitive to flow and intent of magic. These 'friendliness pellets' - really, couldn't this flower have chosen a less cheesy, more believable, if not better name? - are definitely not friendly in any interpretation of the word and were brought into existence with the clear intent to hurt. And depending on how well made and how focused the magical energy is, could do some serious damage if one was not careful.

Or if one was deliberately trying to do harm.

I was about to call out the flower on its bullshit and make a preemptive strike, but Flowey beat me to the punch.

Without a gesture from Flowey the 'friendliness pellets' suddenly rocket towards me, moving as fast as a small spread of bullets fired from a gun. Instinct taking over, I quickly throw myself to the side, hitting the ground shoulder first, after which I roll in order to absorb the impact of the hasty leap.

I kick myself back on my feet, facing Flowey as I level my staff at the creature that had just attacked me and is... deadpanning at me?

Behind me I can hear the pellets of highly concentrated and focused magical energy make contact with the walls of the chamber, obviously grinding into a maybe even through the solid rock of said walls. Though I didn't take my eyes off of the creature that had just attacked me, the sound was more then enough to clue me in on the fact that being hit by a single one of those pellets would have been very bad.

"Hey buddy, you missed them," my left eyebrow twitches as the flower speaks again, still sounding friendly. It was going to try that painfully obvious trick again? "Let's try again, oka-"

Not allowing Flowey to finish its sentence, I launch myself at flower in the center of the chamber. The staff in my hand rises quickly over my head as I spin it like a baton in one smooth motion, preparing to smash the creature that is trying to kill me into bits.

I could see the flower's eyes widen and yelp escape its lips as I rapidly close the distance.

 _ **POP!**_

And then it suddenly disappears under the ground with a loud pop.

Halting dead in my tracks, I hold my staff at the ready in both of my hands, my senses on high alert for the attack I'm _certain_ is coming.

I turn my head from side to side, my amber eyes scanning every inch of the room, and then I turn around in order to take in the rest of the chamber. I am proven right barely a second later as I hear a popping sound from behind me. I turn around and I am greeted by a wide spread of several dozen 'friendliness pellets' heading straight for me.

They spun towards me, arching in my direction impossibly quickly in order to catch me in a pincer attack.

Hurling myself backwards, I barely evade the attack, the tiny pellets only hitting the soil and rock of the ground I had been standing on, punching through it with similar ease of a pebble breaking the surface of a pond and creating a minor dust cloud of pulverized stone and kicked up dirt.

I gulp loudly.

"He, he," I hear a mocking, alarming chuckle, and I turn to look at Flowey, who looks far more menacing then it did before. "You know what's going on here, don't you?"

The flower's face, or what passes for its face at least, has changed dramatically. Its mouth has stretched impossibly wide in a downright satanic grin, now spanning the entire width of its androecium, while its eyes' sclera's have turned entirely pitch black and the irises are now a sickly looking yellow.

"He, he," Flowey continues to chuckle mockingly, something that sends a chill down my spine. "You know, I had thought that you would be just like all the others. So stupid and trusting, so ignorant of the most basic rule behind this world, that it is sickening to simply interact with them."

"But you, though," the flower continues to talk, its lips pulling apart even wider. "You seem to have an inkling of what that meaning is. The moment you laid eyes on me, you were immediately suspicious, distrusting of someone who honestly appeared to be trying to be helpful, attacking the threat without hesitation."

I wrinkle my nose as I realize that this diabolical flower actually sounded _approving_.

Evidently, this Flowey is trying to accomplish more with its monologue then just annoy me. A single energy pellet suddenly pops into existence to my left, almost outside my field of vision, and immediately speeds towards me with barely any sound or warning.

I lean my head back, allowing the attack to pass by my nose by a few inches, all the while not taking my eyes away from Flowey.

Far from being perturbed at its failed ploy, Flowey simply cackles, sounding honestly _happy_ at my dodge.

Clearly, this flower has more then a few screws loose, which is honestly a very bad thing. After all, you can never predict what your opponent is thinking or planning on doing if they are crazy.

Not taking any more chances, the hammer of the gun in my mind's eye slams home, and one Magic Circuit snaps open in response, Prana once more flooding the staff that I am carrying.

Earlier I had Grasped and Altered the piece of wood that I am now using as a weapon in order to maximize its potential for combat. But now that I am actually in combat, far quicker then I had expected, it's time for the final step. Once more concentrating on the staff and the information that I have, I start to carefully pour my Prana into it.

The Mystery that I am using now is, similarly to Structural Analysis, incredibly basic and one of my oldest and best skills. Thaumaturgy is at its core the use of magical energy to enhance or alter the existence of something, and the spell that I am using now is the utilization of this concept without any structure or equation upon a preexisting object. In other words, it is a brute force method that uses magical energy without any complicated spell work to achieve the effect of enhancement upon an object.

It's called Reinforcement, and its workings and concept are very simple. By pouring my Prana into every little flaw of an object, proverbial holes if you will, I can enhance its existence and purpose accordingly. With the quick use of my Structural Analysis I have complete knowledge of every single, infinitesimally small flaw inside of the staff, which I am now rapidly filling up with my Prana through which I am taking away every single structural weakness to be found inside of it and greatly enhancing the staff's attributes.

And as I do this, a web of green intertwining lines rapidly stretch out over the surface of the staff from where my hands are holding it, looking almost like circuitry, the only visible representation for the use of Reinforcement upon an inanimate object.

I finish the process just in time. Flowey has stopped cackling, and it is now looking at me with an very unsettling, deranged grin.

It barely took a second before I notice why it is grinning at me like that. All around me those highly focused concentrations of magical energy that this flower creature uses as an attack are popping into existence, quickly filling the air in their dozens, forming an unavoidable sphere of spinning death that surrounds me from all angles.

Oh, crap.

Flowey laughed at my expression, loud and mocking, and then the pellets are fired towards me.

Once again, I quickly use Reinforcement, but now I apply it to my own body and even my clothes. Prana immediately floods my body, filling every single proverbial hole, the empty spaces in between my flesh, bones, and even my skin, enhancing my body and its qualities of strength, durability, stamina, flexibility and speed far beyond what should be possible for my age. On top of that, Prana also surges into my heart, lungs, and my brain, greatly augmenting their performance as well, even as the Prana just as quickly floods my T-shirt, jeans, sneakers and my cloak, making the fabrics tougher and increasing their tensile strength.

Without hesitating, I move, not backwards or to either side of me, but forwards, directly into the path in which the bare second's worth of observation that I had has told me the least amount of energy pellets are headed towards. My feet ghost over the ground impossibly quickly, sliding smoothly across the floor in a show of footwork that safely navigates me past the energy pellets set on robbing me from my life, moving me from spot to spot, all the while ducking, jinking and leaping in order to get past the gauntlet of dozens of swirling pellets that are screaming through the air all around me, dodging with grace and surety I didn't know I had until I was already moving.

Clearly, I am rather quick on my feet when needed.

Even with my Reinforced body, though, there's simply no way for me to dodge every single pellet. Thankfully, I have just the tool in my hands to defend myself with.

I spin the staff like a baton as I move it rapidly around me body, its material harder then wood has any right to be under the effects of my Mystery, easily intercepting the few pellets that I am unable dodge. The energy pellets crack like eggshells as they hammer into my Reinforced staff, protecting me and clearing my path forwards.

Flowey looks up at me with disbelieve as I once more bear down on it. It clearly hadn't expected me to make it past its attack without a scratch. Time seemed to slow down as I close the last bit of distance between us and we lock gazes.

Just seconds before I could bring my staff down it I saw the disbelieve on Flowey's face vanish, to be replaced with what I can only describe as ravenous hunger.

And then it quickly disappears under the ground again with a loud pop.

I skid to a halt, irritated, and only barely hold back a loud groan. This flower is going to be annoying, I could already tell.

Before I can even finish the thought, I am forced to move as I hear another loud pop behind me and I feel a surge of magical energy. Spinning around, my staff comes up to swat away the two closest 'friendliness pellets' that had almost reached me. Then I jump back, creating just a little more distance between me and the veritable column of spinning death that is bearing down on me, and my right foot plants itself firmly in the ground for stability as I hold my staff horizontally in front of me.

Focusing Prana on my left arm and hand, Reinforcing it as far is I safely could, my fingers move incredibly quickly in order to create a spinning shield in front of me. Dozens of the energy pellets uselessly crash against it, shattering against the surface of the Reinforced staff, showering me in little, harmless shards of spent magical energy.

Again, I am forced to abandon my position as quickly as possible as vines suddenly sprout around me feet and try to ensnare me, and I only barely succeed in getting away from their grasp. My inattention, however, costs me as two energy pellets get past my guard and hammer my side with all the force of bullets fired from a gun, knocking the wind out of me and sending me sprawling. I don't get the luxury of checking out my wounded side as I have to immediately throw myself across the floor and roll in order to dodge a follow up spread of energy pellets that pockmarks the ground I am rolling over in my wake and kicks up a screen of dust and dirt.

Coming up from my roll in a crouched, ready position, I once more lock gazes with Flowey, who is looking at me with a satanic grin that shows far too much teeth. Admittedly, though, I am far more worried about the energy pellets that it is filling the air with in their dozens, their numbers having clearly gone past a hundred and still increasing.

I have a bare second to take this all in, to comprehend the fact that I am effectively looking down the barel of more then a hundred loaded guns, that I am about to be at the receiving end of an attack that is literally unavoidable in every sense of the word.

"Die," Flowey says with smooth killing intent, and fires.

Moving on instinct and my own battle awareness, I rapidly pedal backwards in the face of the attack, knowing that if the pellets catch up to me, it's as good as game over.

As my muscles burn at the ridiculous strain I am putting them through, adrenaline floods my body, while my mind is racing to the point that time itself seems to slow down, then halt entirely. All the while my heart is pounding, my brain feels like it's on fire, and I can hear my bones creak under the pressure.

I can feel my eyes burning.

Said eyes widen as my perception of the world suddenly changes. The dots that I had noted earlier are back, even as the world took on the far more defined look it had earlier, once more present in the walls, floor, and ceiling of the chamber in the same geometric pattern as before. The same went for the blades of grass on the ground, the odd rock lying about...

...And even the energy pellets had these dots, infinitesimally small compared to the ones I could see in physical matter, in them. Time had once more begun progressing from my perspective, but Flowey's 'friendliness pellets' were still only approaching me at what appeared to be a snail's pace. Furthermore, as I continue to watch, an odd phenomena occurs. As I continue to watch, an image overlays over every single energy pellet, a perfect double of every pellet that appears to be a second or two in the future in respect to its original, showing me where the pellet is headed mere moments in advance...

It's like watching an after image, only in reverse.

With eyes wide open and Prana surging in my body, I reverse direction and rush headlong into the coming onslaught.

"Hmm," I hear Flowey ponder in amusement, "What are you doing? Are you that eager to rush to your own death? Well, far be it for me to stop you."

I ignore the creature's voice as I meet the storm head on. I leap and twirl, roll and ghost over the floor, and twist and turn as my new perception of the world shows me perfectly where every single energy pellet in my field of vision is headed. This, combined with the fact that said pellets are moving no faster then water dripping down a wall from my perspective, makes it almost absurdly easy to find and exploit the tiny, almost nonexistent gaps in the tempest of energy pellets, and find my way through said gaps.

 _I can see!_

My staff twirls and spins in my hands to smash aside the few energy pellets that I am unable to dodge, then I smash the butt end of it in the ground to vault myself over another set of pellets. Landing, I immediately launch myself to the side, roll over the floor, and kick off straight towards Flowey.

Instead of closing the distance like I had attempted and failed to do before, my slowed down perception of time gives me just enough presence of mind to try something else. My foot kicks up a rock lying near my feet, and I catch it in midair as I twirl my way past another two energy pellets. As I continue my spin, Prana surges into the rock, Altering and Reinforcing it till it suits my desire, and it has taken on the form of crude, but still very, _very_ sharp and enhanced dagger.

The moment I come out of my spin I use the momentum I gained with the movement and all of my Reinforced strength to hurl it straight at the still grinning face of Flowey.

Said flower looked taken aback. My new and enhanced perception of reality allowed me to perfectly see its eyes widen and its body tense in preparation to once again escape under the ground.

It was just a hair too late.

"AGGGH!"

Flowey disappeared beneath the soil again, its downward movement saving it from having its face impaled. Instead, the topmost leaf above the right hand side of its face had been sheared off, and was now floating lazily in the air. The Altered and Reinforced dagger continued on, its enhanced edge stabbing into the wall of the chamber, cratering it.

As Flowey once again disappears underneath the ground, its attack finally ends as it is no longer there to create more and more of its deceptively deadly energy pellets. I breath deeply and wince as I touch my side where two energy pellets had gotten past my guard. The battle so far had been short, but fast paced, and I wonder how much of my stamina I have already used up. Luckily for me, it is a fairly standard trick for a Magus to exchange Prana for stamina, one that could easily be performed in the middle of battle, so I was not scared of running out of stamina any time soon, especially with the massive upgrade to my Circuits.

Surprisingly, I find that the spot where the energy pellets had impacted my cloak earlier hadn't been punctured. As a matter of fact, my cloak is entirely undamaged, not even being scuffed or marred in the slightest. The pain I had felt earlier was merely the force of the impact bleeding through my cloak and my T-shirt, which had been powerful enough to leave some bruises on the skin underneath, but not much else.

Again, I don't get much time to ponder it as I am forced to quickly leap away, the emerging vines at my feet finding themselves grasping at empty air.

"He, he," there was that chuckle again, but this time it is deeper and saturated with far more malice then before.

Flowey emerges from the ground in front of me, chuckling, seemingly unbothered by the fact that one of its leafs had been torn away rather brutally. At least, I believe so until its chuckle slowly raises in volume and pitch, and I take a step back and bare my staff at it, feeling the beginnings of fear slowly crawl up my back.

"Ha, ha! This is so much better!" Flowey crowed in evident exhilaration, its chuckle now a deep laugh as it leaned so far back on its stem until it was looking straight up into the sparse sunlight that shone through the crack in the ceiling. "Ha, ha! This is the best! When is the last time I had such an uplifting feeling? I can't remember. Even fighting Smiley Thrashbag hasn't been this much fun for such a long time! Oh, why didn't I allow this to happen sooner?"

This flower is most definitely insane. No question about that.

"This, this is how battle should be!" Flowey appeared to have calmed down a little, once more looking at me, but the flower's expression could be likened to some mad priest who was in the middle of a sermon to a full room of brainwashed cult members. In other words, it looked completely psychotic and deranged; a dangerous combo.

"You're crazy," I find myself whispering, disturbed by the flower's words.

"Oh?" Flowey grinned at me, having heard the words spoken beneath my breath, and gave me an honest questioning look. "You are that strong, but you do not enjoy battle? You are an odd one," Flowey leered at me, "Someone as strong as you should have realized by now. Fighting is fun! Death and pain are just the cost of that fun! It's the ultimate game anyone can play with their lives on the line as they exercise the most basic rule of this world! IT'S KILL OR BE KILLED!"

Dozens of energy pellets manifest in the air around Flowey, then multiply, all spinning rapidly, and I tense, ready to move and use my eyes to their fullest advantage to-

 _ **FWOOSH!**_

A ball of flame came screaming from the side, the flames hot enough that I can feel my skin heat up more then a dozen feet away. It struck Flowey, causing the fiendish flower creature to screech as the flames envelop it in its deadly embrace. Flowey trashed as the energy pellets it had brought into existence disintegrate now that its focus is broken. A bare second later it once again disappears beneath the soil with a loud pop, and I immediately turn my attention to where the ball of flame had come from.

I did keep my senses primed on the off chance that the creature might come back soon. Flames applied to the body of a flower would be devastating, but there was no way to be certain how fast Flowey could recover from such a thing. It was better to be safe then sorry, after all.

For now, though, the majority of my attention is on the doorway which the ball of flame had emerged on the other end of the room, through which I could see a large shadow move. The shadow steadily grew bigger and became more distinct as it got closer and closer to me, allowing me to make out more and more of the emerging being's body.

The being was about the size of an adult, and it is wearing some kind of robe, though I couldn't make out any details yet. As it got closer, however, I could feel a subtle but undeniable pressure slowly building on my body, as if the air had gotten thicker and heavier for every step that it took towards me.

I swallow as I realize that the pressure that I am feeling right now is pure magical energy pressing down on me. Whatever this being is, it is naturally emitting enough Prana that its mere approach made the air itself feel heavy. It had to be incredibly powerful to be able to do that.

Stamping down my budding apprehension, my feet shift into a ready position and I bare my staff at the approaching presence. I am a Magus, a human being who has broken past the rules imposed by the world, beat the system so to speak, in order to enact my Magecraft. Whatever this being is, I will not be intimidated by its mere aura.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth. . ."

I hear the being murmur as it steps into the light, its voice oddly soothing for the powerful presence that it exudes.

The moment that the being becomes clear to my sight, I have to hold back a gasp of shock.

The being is definitely not human, something made abundantly clear by the fact that it is covered entirely in rather soft looking, snow white fur. The being's head greatly reminds me of a goat, with long, droopy ears falling down on either side of said head, almost to its shoulders, while two small, highly adorable horns can be found on top of its head. The goat-like being looks at me with kind eyes, framed with long eyelashes, with red irises that seem maddeningly familiar somehow.

As I had noted earlier, the being is wearing a kind of robe that leaves its feet and paws, both of which are tipped by sharp looking claws, exposed. The fabric of the robe in question is colored a fairly dark shade of blue, with white sleeves, while the same symbol that seems to decorate all the doorways in these caverns can be found on its chest, the symbol surrounded by a lighter shade of blue. The symbol itself - the sphere, stylized wings and triangles - are colored white.

Its appearance, though, is not the reason why I am shocked. No, all my attention is focused on the pure white sphere swirling in front of the being's chest.

 _A SOUL. Another's SOUL._

Like it had done with my own SOUL not to long ago, my sight somehow goes deeper then the SOUL's mere appearance, allowing me to make out this being's most distinctive traits with but a glance. My gaze does not penetrate this being's SOUL as deep as it did my own, but I can clearly see the love, hope and the bottomless compassion that make up said SOUL. I can also see plently of mischievousness and playfullness hidden deep inside of its SOUL, and a strong motherly inclination.

Combined, this gives this being a loving, highly protective nature.

That's how my eyes - and I do not know how this works - interpret the SOUL of this being, at least.

Furthermore, as my eyes continue to gaze at and interpret the being's SOUL, I am saddened to see deep, soul-rending-

"My word, what happened here!"

The shocked exclamation broke my chain of thought. The being looked around the chamber with slightly widened eyes, which, to put it mildly, has been shot to hell and back under the constant barrage of energy pellets Flowey had been throwing everywhere with abandon. The walls, floor and even ceiling are all pockmarked with hundreds of several inch deep holes - which really made me wonder how in the name of the Root my cloak could have possible taken two of those and not be damaged, even Reinforced as it was - and there was the constant sound of chips of rock breaking off from the walls and ceiling, which added more and more dust to the already chocked air.

Even raised in obvious surprise, the being's voice sounded feminine and motherly to my ears, making me relax a little, though not enough to drop my guard entirely.

The being evidently noticed my apprehension, something that was clear from the fact that I am still baring my staff in her direction and how tense I currently am. The being's eyes look me over for something that I cannot identify, looking concerned, before quickly raising her hands - er, paws - in a placating gesture.

"Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I mean you no harm."

I remained skeptical for a moment longer, looking into her gentle red eyes, searching for any hint of deceit, before relaxing slightly and lowering my staff. I could sense no ill will coming from this being, and her SOUL spoke of a deep kindness and a protective, motherly nature that almost instantly made me feel at ease. Hell, I am pretty sure that even if I couldn't somehow make out her core nature with nothing but a glance I still would have trusted her to a degree. She really came across as that sweet and nice.

She looked relieved as I relaxed, and she slowly approached, as if she was frightened to spook me.

"Are you hurt anywhere, innocent one? I will heal your wounds if needed."

I was about to shake my head no, until a painful throb from my side gave me pause and made me grimace in mild pain. Now that adrenaline was no longer coursing through my body, I could clearly feel where the two energy pellets that had gotten past my guard earlier had hit.

"Yes," I said lowly, gently pressing a glove covered hand into my side. "I was hit here."

"Let me take a look," she said kindly, having almost reached me. "I will take care of it."

Curious what she was planning on doing, and feeling save enough in her presence to do so, I move aside my cloak and raise my T-shirt. Underneath, two large bruises which have already started to turn purple could be seen, being placed diagonally on the skin over my ribcage, one placed slightly higher then the other.

As I did this, I sheepishly shut down my Circuits, having forgotten to switch them off in all the excitement. The moment I do, my sight once again reverts back to its previous state, my heightened clarity of perception, the strange dots in everything and the overlapping images fading away, and everything no longer moves in slow motion.

I can still see the goat-like creature's SOUL, though I can no longer read said SOUL like I did a moment before.

Hiding a frown, I quietly resolve to myself to figure this mystery out as soon as possible. I am certain that if I hadn't lost my memories, I would know what is going on.

That can wait for later, though. For now, it would probably be best if I keep my attention on the one who had come to my aid, and who is currently tending to me.

"What a horrible thing to do," the kind being murmurs to herself, having dropped to her knees in front of me to get a closer look at my bruises. Her clawed paws gently brush over said bruises, careful to not put too much pressure on my wounded side. "To hurt a child in such a way is inexcusable."

"Thankfully," she continued on to say, retracting her paws. "These bruises are easily healed. Hold still, my child," her clawed paws lit up with a gentle green light, some kind of healing magic, I'm sure, "This won't take long."

The kind goat-like creature places her paws, one over the other, over the bruises marring my side as she concentrates. Immediately, I can feel the foreign Prana invade my body, focusing on the bruises, and I grimace as pain briefly flares, only to relax a moment later as the energy accelerates the healing process and soothes away the pain.

A moment later, she takes her paws away, revealing unblemished skin underneath, my bruises having disappeared in seconds. I raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"There we go, all better," she stands up and dusted off her robe, smiling kindly down at me. I find myself gratefully looking back up at her as I lower my T-shirt back down.

"Thank you, um," I said, shuffling in place. "Uh, what should I... call you?"

Her eyes widened, and then her muzzle, which was so slight I had a hard time to notice she even had it, pulled back in what appeared to be a sheepish smile, revealing a pair of rather sharp looking fangs underneath her top lip.

"Oh dear, I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I?" she said, sounding mortified. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins."

"Nice to meet you," I said back, politeness taking over. "I'm Shirou, Emiya Shirou."

Toriel giggled, though I am not certain at what.

"Well, aren't you a polite little boy," she said, and I blush a little. "Shirou, huh? That's a nice name."

Toriel paused, blinked once, and then raised an eyebrow at me.

"I have to ask, why did you put your last name in front of your first name?"

"That's normal where I come from," I remark immediately, the answer coming easily, as if I have had to answer that particular question many times before.

Toriel nodded, accepting my words at face value.

"Anyway," she said, quickly changing topics. "I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here for a very long time."

"Where _is_ here?" I find myself asking one of the first burning questions that are on my mind right now.

"This is the Underground," Toriel said. "The home of monsterkind."

I could feel my eyebrows shoot up into my hairline at the answer that I am given.

"I can imagine that you have many questions, my child, and I will gladly answer all of them," Toriel said, correctly interpreting my expression.

"But not here, I take it?"

Toriel nodded, looking aggrieved at something. I frowned.

"It isn't safe for you here, innocent one," she continued. "Once we are safely through the catacombs, I will answer any question that you have."

She offered her paw to me, obviously wanting to guide me through the dangers ahead. I look at her paw briefly, then up at her, before taking the proffered paw.

If anything, Toriel had proven herself a kind person, and I implicitly trusted here to do right by me, even though I am not entirely certain why I did so.

Toriel gently holds my glove covered hand in her own as she turns us both in the direction of the doorway she had emerged from. I fell into step with her, following behind her as she starts to walk. She smiles over her shoulder at me, happy for some reason.

"Welcome to the Underground, my child."


	2. Chapter 2: The Ruins, Part 1

**SWORDTALE**

 **Chapter 2: The Ruins Part 1.**

I ponder my situation carefully as Toriel holds my hand in her own and guides me through the passageway, lighting up the path in front of us with a fireball she is holding in the palm of her free paw. From what I have been able to piece together so far, I have somehow ended up in a world hidden underground populated with strange creatures, who call themselves monsters, ironically enough. And I came across this world after falling into some hole in the ground. Except for the fact that I have lost my memories and that I already knew about the supernatural, my current situation has more then a few parallels with the well-known story of Alice in Wonderland.

We emerge back into the light, and I push the amusing thought to the back of my mind as I take in our surroundings.

The Ruins, as Toriel named it earlier, are aptly named. The space we had emerged in was bigger then the previous chamber, and the rock walls are hidden away from sight by a dozen old buildings that have clearly seen better days. Several of them had their roofs collapsed under their own weight, more often then not taking a wall or two with them. Every building in sight is covered in moss and ivy, hiding away quite a bit of the deep purple brick that every single building seemed to be made out of.

In front of us is another building, though calling it a castle in miniature would be more accurate. Two wide, branching staircases run up to the raised platform in front of it, and, oddly enough, the space in between said staircases is filled with red colored leaves. I briefly wonder where these leafs had come from. There are no trees in this chamber.

The building itself is made out of the same purple bricks as all the other structures around us, and is equally covered in moss and ivy, though it appeared to be in a far better condition. For the rest, the miniature castle is largely featureless, with two big empty spaces where glass panes would have been in a human building on either side of the tall doorway in the center, above which a plaque is fastened, with the words written down on it having faded to the point that the text has become completely illegible.

I take this all in with a bare second glance, idly holding my staff in my off-hand.

Toriel snuffed out the fireball in her paw, the many torches affixed to the buildings and walls around us now lighting the way. She releases my hand, and wordlessly instructs me to follow her as she ascends the staircase on the right.

As I follow behind her, I fight the urge to pick up one of the red leaves that is laying on the ground, the reason for the urge escaping me, and I look up at the massive building in front of me that will act as a gateway that will lead me deeper down the rabbit hole/adventure that I find myself in.

I quietly resolve in the privacy of my own mind that I would be ready for whatever dangers lie ahead.

 _* The shadow of the Ruins looms above, filling you with determination._

I stumble, not just because of the words that seem to echo in my own mind and have no identifiable source, but also because I suddenly feel the Circuits that make up my Crest snap open in unison for a bare second. The transplanted Circuits channel a small, but highly concentrated amount of Od before just as quickly closing again.

Clutching at my chest with my free hand, I can feel my heart race as I look around the chamber, trying to find the source of the voice.

But I see no else but myself and Toriel.

What I did see, though, and what I was certain was not there a moment before, is a point of concentrated light directly in front of me, looking almost like a spinning star.

What the hell was that? Why did the Circuits making up my Crest just suddenly activate on their own? And where had that point of concentrated light come from? Maybe it is a product of whatever kind of Magecraft is stored inside of it? But then why would such a spell suddenly cast itself? What was its purpose? And-

"My child, is everything alright?" Toriel's concerned words drags my attention back to her.

I look up at Toriel, who is worriedly looking down at me at the top of the staircase, having her paws clasped in front of her.

"I'm fine," I manage to say, momentarily pushing the questions raging through my mind aside. "I was just lost in thought for a moment."

Toriel still looked concerned. I had to hide a frown as I realize that she wasn't giving any indication that she could see the point of light hovering directly in front of me.

"That's to be expected, I suppose, innocent one. Anyone who finds themselves in your kind of situation would have a lot on their mind."

I nodded, my eyes drifting back to the point of light in front me as I absently trace my Crest with my glove covered fingers through my cloak and T-shirt. Yet another mystery that had been lumped onto the ever growing mountain of them.

"Come now, my child. Let's not dawdle," Toriel indicated me to follow her, which I after a moment did, quickly bounding up the nearest staircase.

As I did so, I pick up a single leaf and slip it into one of the pockets of my jeans. I don't know why, but I have the impression that I can use this red-colored leaf for something, though for what exactly still escapes me.

I also surreptitiously put my hand on the spot of the light as I brush by it, only to feel absolutely nothing as my hand passes through it like it isn't even there.

Things were just getting stranger and stranger.

Putting it out of my mind, though I knew I would muse on it later when I had the chance, I follow Toriel into the next room, which is surprisingly small.

The room in question is rather plain, consisting of the same monotonous purple floors and brick walls like the previous chamber, though there also are six grey colored tiles in a peculiar pattern placed off to the side, sticking slightly out of the floor. There is a golden switch on the wall besides a closed door that bore that symbol that Toriel has embroidered on her robe and keeps on reappearing in these decrepit Ruins, with yet another grey plaque fastened to the wall on the other side of the doorway, bearing faded text.

"Welcome to your new home, innocent one," Toriel said, sounding solemn. I wonder why. "Allow me to educate you on the operation of the Ruins."

Toriel walks over to the grey colored tiles, stepping on them in what is clearly a well-practiced pattern. Her mere weight is enough to press the tiles down, clicking as they did so, revealing that it was a part of some kind of mechanism. After the four outermost tiles were pressed down, Toriel walked over to the wall and flipped the switch.

The door split in two, then soundlessly slid apart, disappearing into the walls on either side, opening up the path.

"The Ruins are full of puzzles," Toriel smiled at my surprised expression. "Ancient fusions between diversions and door keys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them."

Toriel once more went on ahead, entering the next room as I hurried to follow. I did pause briefly to look at the plaque bearing the faded text that is only just legible, honestly curious what was written down on it.

"Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road."

I read aloud, not understanding the message, before I think back to how Toriel had solved the puzzle in this room.

She had only stepped on the four outermost tiles, leaving the two in the center untouched, which alludes to not walking the middle road as only the four outermost needed to be pressed down in order to open the door. This plaque held the clue I would have needed in order to solve the puzzle if Toriel hadn't solved it for me.

Having my curiosity sated, I quickly head into the next room before Toriel began to worry. Once again, I find Toriel waiting for me, paws still clasped in front of her. The room, similarly purple and covered in vines and moss, is different in that there are small streams of water with short wooden bridges over them. The path beneath my feet veers off sharply to the right, following the shape of the room, while the wall directly in front of me and running the length of the room bears multiple switches. To my left another plaque is secured to the wall, bearing another warning to not stray from the path.

I am starting to notice a trend here.

"To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches," Toriel patiently explained, sounding motherly. "Do not worry, I have labeled the ones you need to flip."

I wonder, hiding a frown, why she wants to let me do that on my own when she solved the puzzle for me in the room before. I can only guess that it is a test of sorts.

Doing as instructed, I pass over the first stream of water running the width of the room and make my way over to the first switch. I absently note that Toriel has walked to the end of the room where several dozen massive spikes that jutted out of the floor made the path ahead inaccessible.

I turn my attention back to the switch and see that several golden arrow marks pointing in the direction of said switch are drawn on the wall with the words 'Please press this switch - Toriel' written down beside it.

My left eyebrow twitches. I know that I am far more mature then most kids my age - having been trained and brought up with the mindset of a Magus - but I am fairly certain that even an ordinary child would have gotten the hint with merely the arrows or the writing. Doing both is a bit excessive.

Still, I obediently flip the switch after I make sure that it is safe with a quick Structural Analysis, having placed my hand on the wall, revealing the mechanism hidden behind it. Holding back a sigh, I conclude to myself that I am undoubtedly paranoid beyond any reasonable measure doing so, but I still do it almost entirely on instinct.

Curiously, I don't suspect Toriel of any foul intentions, yet I still have a compulsive need to check first, just to be 100 percent certain.

It probably has something to do with the training that I received as an apprentice Magus before coming here. Again, I find myself wondering what my childhood had been like.

Quickly hurrying across the second stream of water, I come up to another section of the wall bearing two switches with one clearly being labelled in an identical manner to the first. Once again, I give in to the need to be certain of my safety, and do a quick Grasp of the entire wall in front of me, the two switches and the mechanism behind it.

I find nothing out of the ordinary, though I do note that the unlabeled switch is jammed and doesn't even work.

Toriel smiled widely as I quickly did as instructed and a resounding click echoed through the chamber. Behind her, the massive spikes jutting out of the floor that had blocked the path forward sunk into the ground, disappearing from view entirely.

"Splendid! I am proud of you, little one," she said, sounding very pleased. "Let us move to the next room."

I immediately follow her, and in the next chamber I am greeted by somewhat of a surprise.

In the middle of the room, a dummy stood in its lonesome. It's about the same height as me, and it is structured with an odd, oblong head that has a single button eye, a body that is covered in stitches, a wide wooden stand and no arms. The dummy had clearly seen better days, with several of its stitches having come lose and its cotton 'skin' having been torn in several spots, its inner stuffing sticking out in what would have been a sickening picture if it was a flesh and blood creature.

I barely pay any attention to that, though. I am far more interested by the small, white SOUL that is swirling in front of it.

"As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you," Toriel said, then quickly continued her explanation before I could ask the obvious question of why. "You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a fight. While you are in a fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict" She gestured with her paw to the dummy. "Practice talking to the Dummy."

I eyed Toriel skeptically for a moment. Did she honestly expect me to not fight back if a monster were to attack me? And simply try and talk them down?

Pausing, I realize that said option is actually rather appealing to me. While I had combat skills no child my age ought to have, I know that I am a pacifist at heart. Being able to fight is necessary for my dream, to become a Hero of Justice, but that did not mean that I enjoy fighting and would rather employ nonviolent means.

With that being said, were I to be attacked, I would naturally act to preserve my own life, just like anyone else would do. I would rather not have to kill anyone in order to do so, though, even if that meant risking my own life.

But sometimes that just isn't an option. Sometimes you have to kill in order to protect yourself or save someone else.

And that is the crux of the issue. Let's say there's a robber who has taken several hostages after an attempted robbery gone wrong and is threatening to kill them. Even when one only uses mundane means, it is possible to save all the hostages with some luck. But even then there will be one person who will not be saved: the robber himself. A Hero saves only those that he sides with, but I don't want that. I want to be a Hero who can truly save _everyone_ in my eyesight.

Including myself, even though I am not quite certain why I want to preserve my own life, as I consider my own life to be the least important of all.

I know that such a goal is preposterous and unfeasible to the extreme, but that's the kind of Hero I want to be, even now I no longer remember why I desire such a thing.

You can't save everyone. That is an inescapable truth of this world, but that's exactly what I aim to be capable of doing one day. And even if it isn't possible to achieve such a goal, the mere act of attempting it is something a true Hero would try and achieve regardless, in spite of it being an impossible pipe dream in all realities.

But when I defended myself earlier from Flowey, I had every intention of responding with deadly force in order to protect myself. Flowey was too much of a threat at the time, and if I responded with less then equal force in a bid to simply immobilize Flowey, I was libel to get myself killed.

As such, I acted in clear contradiction of my ideal of a Hero of Justice and my goal of saving everyone.

And even though my own life isn't all that important to me, the thought of risking it in an attempt to save someone who is trying to kill me or hurt another repulses me on one hand and only feels natural on the other, as if I have two conflicting ideals in my head.

Thus during the fight with Flowey, the ideal of preserving my own life won out before I had even consciously considered it.

It's a paradox.

In short, in spite of my many years of training, I am still not strong enough. Not by any stretch of the imagination. If I had the necessary strength and skill, I might be able to satisfy both ideals, saving everyone and preserving my own life, but as I am now such a proposition is patently impossible.

... Why do I get the feeling that I have agonized over this particular dilemma many times before?

Shaking my head, I step up to the Dummy. I might as well show Toriel that I am willing to follow her approach if the option is there. Besides, my eyes have shown me that the 'Dummy' in front of me is alive in a sense, if the SOUL I can see is anything to go by. It looked like the Dummy had seen better days, and is in need of some help.

And if there is anything that personifies the Hero that I aspire to become, it is offering aid to everyone who needs it.

As I step up to it, though, I can hear another's voice whisper in my mind.

 _* You encountered the Dummy._

It took a lot of effort for me to not show a reaction at once more hearing that ghostly whisper. I surreptitiously look around, searching in vain where the voice is coming from. Nothing. There was no one but me, Toriel and the Dummy in the room, and none of us had spoken or even opened our mouths.

Toriel didn't react, so I can only summarize that she hadn't heard it. As I didn't want to worry her, I kept my expression carefully neutral, the worry that some kind of specter might be haunting me festering in the back of my mind.

Hiding a grimace, I shunt my uneasiness aside and focus my attention on the task at hand.

"Pardon me, uh, sir," I began somewhat clumsily. "I couldn't help but notice that several of your stitches have come lose and that some of your stuffing is sticking out. Would you mind if I helped you with that?"

The Dummy in front of me remained silent, though the small SOUL in front of it twitched in a way that oddly enough reminded me of a puppy happily waging its tail.

"Ah, good," Toriel nodded, sounding pleased at the direction I took. "Offering help in the middle of battle is sure to throw most monsters off long enough for me to intervene."

Toriel paused as I walked up to the Dummy, having taken its continued silence as a confirmation that I could help it. Reaching around, I carefully push its stuffing back inside the Dummy's body as I once more tighten the stitches that had gotten lose. The torn fabric wasn't so easily fixed, though thankfully I have just the spell for it.

More importantly, I can use it as there is no one in the room from which I have to hide the existence of Thaumaturgy from.

Placing my free hand on the Dummy's chest, the other one still holding my staff, I access a single Circuit as I briefly Grasp its entire body before using Alteration.

The torn fabric all over the Dummy's body mended itself in just a few seconds, looking almost as if the damage was simply being unmade and giving the impression that time was rapidly reversing itself.

I heard a loud gasp from behind me.

Stepping away from the Dummy, I happily look the Dummy over.

"There. I hope that's better."

The Dummy remained silent, but its SOUL had lit up a little, shining brighter. I got the impression that it was thanking me. I returned a nod at it, feeling good about myself.

 _* You won!_

My eyebrow twitches as the voice once more makes itself known in my mind, though I manage to keep any further reaction from my face.

"My child," I turn my head towards Toriel, who is looking back at me with wide eyes. "You... you are a wizard?"

I sheepishly scratch the back of my head.

"We actually call our self Magi," I corrected her. "But yes."

Toriel's surprised look faded away, being replaced by a wide, relieved smile.

"That's very good to know, little one. With you possessing magic, you will be able to defend yourself much better if necessary. I have to say that this is a very welcome revelation," she said, before her expression turned curious. "I haven't seen many examples of human magic in all my years, dear child, and I find that I have many questions to ask you once we're through the catacombs. I hope you don't mind sating an old lady's curiosity?"

"You're interested in my Thaumaturgy?" I find myself asking as I blink once in surprise.

"Yes," Toriel nodded, her long ears swaying with the movement. "I have seen... what did you call it again? Thaumaturgy? That's an odd term, but yes. The few instances of human Thaumaturgy that I have observed with my own eyes boggle the mind with their strength and complexity."

"We can discuss this later, though. Once we're through the catacombs," she said, realizing that this wasn't exactly a prime location to discuss magic.

"I have no problem with that," I assure her, just before an idea comes to me. "So long as you tell me about monster magic and monsters themselves as well."

Information is power after all, and knowing what monsters are capable of would help me if I indeed were to be attacked in the future by other monsters. Toriel seemed pretty sure that was going to happen sooner or later, going by her actions and advice so far.

Toriel giggled to herself, looking incredibly happy for some reason. "Ah, I see that you're eager to learn, little one," she looked down at me and smiled widely. "Don't worry, I will gladly tell you all want to know about it so long as you are willing to learn, my child."

I nod enthusiastically, feeling excited at learning arcane secrets. Then I pause, grimacing as I realize something important. I quickly blank my face, hoping that Toriel hadn't seen my sour expression, but the laser like intensity she suddenly focuses on me tells me that she had noticed in spite of my hopes.

"Is everything alright, dear one? Is something bothering you?"

The grimace reappears on my face. I really, _really_ don't want to talk about this, but I don't think Toriel would be willing to let it go after I had tried to hide my unease. I could lie, create some believable excuse and shunt the problem aside for the moment, yet the thought of lying to her made me even more uncomfortable.

"Yes," I began hesitantly. "There's a... slight problem."

Easily picking up how uncomfortable I am right now, Toriel kneels down before me and looks kindly at me.

"You can tell me anything, my child, and I will do my best to understand and to try and help you."

I look into her eyes for a moment, seeing her sincerity, hesitate for a brief moment, before deciding to tell her. Toriel is trustworthy, I am certain of that.

"I'm not exactly sure how many of your questions I can answer. Chances are that my knowledge on human Thaumaturgy is a bit... spotty."

That seemed to grab Toriel's attention, who cocked her head in a questioning manner at me. "Why do you say that, innocent one? Have you just started to learn magic?"

"N-no," I said, absently chewing on my bottom lip, feeling uncomfortable about what I am about to tell Toriel. "I know that I have been training for years in the miracle arts, or I believe so, at least."

Toriel frowned at me, and suddenly looked concerned and confused. "You believe so, dear one?"

That uncomfortable feeling in my chest grew heavier, making it difficult to continue, but I stubbornly soldier on.

"I-I do not remember much before coming to the Underground," I said, and I hear Toriel gasp loudly at the admittance. "Everything before coming here is just a blur. I remember some small things, like my name, age, the fact that I am a Magus, some basic spells, and where I am from, but everything else is just... gone. I remember nothing about my kindergarten days, the last few years are riddled with so many missing pieces they might as well be missing entirely, and I don't even know if I have a family."

It all came out in a rush, and I lower my head, breaking eye contact with a shocked looking Toriel. While it had felt extremely uncomfortable for me to tell that I am suffering from a pretty serious case of amnesia, I have to admit to myself that speaking up about it had been oddly relieving.

I don't get to ponder it long before Toriel's arms are suddenly around me. I stiffen for a brief moment, not expecting the sudden hug, before wrapping my arms around her and leaning into the embrace. It was soothing, and I am suddenly reminded of the fact that while I am a Magus, I am also a ten year old kid.

"I'm sorry to hear that, dear one," Toriel murmured into my ear, rubbing the top of my head with one of her paws. "I can't even begin to imagine how you are feeling right now, and while I can't assure you that everything will come back in time, I will do my utmost to help and take care of you. I promise you that."

My breath hitched.

Toriel held me in her embrace a little while longer before letting go of me and standing back up, brushing down her robe.

"Let's continue," she said softly, beckoning towards the passageway up ahead. I immediately follow her, feeling much better about my situation then I did a moment before.

We arrive in the next chamber, and it's rather odd. It is a simple rectangular room with nothing in it, consisting of nothing more then the same purple brick walls, ceiling and smooth purple floor. My brow furrows as I notice the path on it, donated by the fact that it consists of a lighter purple coloring then the ground around it, twists and turns over the floor with no rhyme or reason, though inevitably heading towards the corridor on the right end of the room.

"There's another puzzle in this room," Toriel explained at my puzzled expression, smiling. "I wonder if you can solve it?"

Another puzzle? I look around, but don't see anything that could be considered a puzzle, only empty air. Following Toriel as she heads toward the corridor, I keep my eyes wide open for anything suspicious or that might prove a danger, my body tense and ready to move at a moment's notice.

It's because of this that it took me a bare nanosecond to react to a small figure suddenly emerging from a darkened corner, hopping in between me and Toriel, cutting me off from her. Falling into a ready stance, I level my staff at it, before blinking once as I register the creature's physical appearance.

It looked like... well, a frog, though considerably bigger then your garden-variety frog as it head is level with my knees. There are other differences too, like the fact that its skin is entirely white, with three black dots on its chest, and what appeared to be a second hidden face as there are two blinking eyes barely visible in between the frog's two front paws. The frog's nostrils flared periodically as it stared at me with an intensity that is almost disturbing, though I couldn't detect any hostile intent from it.

And like Toriel and the Dummy, I can see a small, white SOUL floating placidly in front of its chest.

 _* Froggit attacks you!_

I blink as the Voice, as I was calling it for now, once more speaks to me, and then my eyes widen as its words penetrate my mind.

The Froggit leaps at me, the muscles in its legs suddenly brunching as it pushed off against the stone floor and rockets towards me with surprising speed.

Caught somewhat off guard by the straight forward attack, especially because the Froggit hadn't given off any hostile vibes, the monster is barely a foot away from me as I begin to react. I don't know why, especially as I still have the time necessary to bat away the frog-like creature with my staff, but instead of doing that I instinctively position myself so that the Froggit will directly impact with my cloak, somehow believing that will be enough to protect me.

And to my disbelieve, it is.

The Froggit struck my cloak head first, there was this bizarre sound that I could not place and a brief glow of green in my peripheral vision, and the monster bounced off harmlessly. It landed on its back a little ways away, obviously dazed as its legs spasm in the air above it.

I looked at the dazed Froggit and then at my cloak, then back to the Froggit and again back to my cloak. What just happened?

I put the question out of my mind as the Froggit clambers back on its feet, still looking dazed as a little blood weeps from a small patch of torn skin on its forehead. The Froggit stumbled a little as it regained its bearings, still looking somewhat out of it, and I find myself surprisingly concerned for its wellbeing.

The question slips past my lips before I even realize it.

"Are you alright?" I blink in disbelieve that I actually asked the question.

The Froggit's eyes focus on me, its wide mouth falling open in what I can only speculate is surprise, while the eyes in between its front legs have stopped blinking completely.

Before either of us could say or do anything else, Toriel stepped onto the scene, having doubled back after realizing what had happened.

I shivered at the expression on her face. She did _not_ look happy.

Toriel didn't say anything, but glared at the Froggit, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. There was this aura around her that, even though I was not the target of her ire, still made me tense up as the feeling of staring down some ferocious beast who is only restraining itself in order to protect its young washed over the chamber.

Froggit bolted down the corridor we were headed towards without looking back.

I am getting the impression that Toriel is a bit overprotective. And by a bit, I mean a lot.

 _* You won!_

Making sure that I didn't show any reaction to the Voice's words, I relax my stance and lower my staff now that the danger had passed.

"I'm sorry for that, my child," Toriel said, regret mixing with the anger in her voice. "I should have been paying more attention. You haven't been hurt, have you?"

"No," I shake my head, rather touched by how protective Toriel was being. "I'm fine."

"Good," Toriel sighed in heartfelt relieve. "In that case, let's continue on. Remain on your guard, though. We can't know for certain if that Froggit was alone or not."

I nodded, agreeing with that line of thinking wholeheartedly.

Following Toriel into the corridor, we pass quickly through the torch lined tunnel. The flickering flames of the torches illuminated the path forward and also made yet another plaque hidden in the shadows of the tunnel visible. I looked at it, and quickly memorize the text written down on it, certain that it pertained to the puzzle Toriel had alluded to.

We emerge from the corridor, stepping onto a small wooden platform. In front of us is a stone path, every inch of which is filled with massive spikes, their tips gleaming in the light provided by the ever present torches. Crystal clear water surrounds the stone walkway on either side.

I frown at the scene in front of me, and as I wonder how to get across the walkway, I silently murmur the hint provided on the plaque in the corridor behind me.

"The western room is the eastern room's blueprint."

As I mull over the words, I get the feeling that there's an easy way to get past this puzzle, one that wasn't intended by its creators and something that only I can do. A way in which I do not risk losing a limb or have to jump into the water and getting wet in order to circumvent the puzzle entirely.

It's on the tip of my tongue, and I feel a slight pressure building behind my eyes, but no matter how much I focus the answer does not come.

Sighing in frustration, I decide to simply focus on solving the puzzle as it was intended, which luckily for me is a rather simple and straightforward affair.

Really, the hint provided made it a bit too easy. It confirmed that the room we just came from and the one we're in right now are connected in some way. This room has a spike filled stone walkway, while the other room is entirely empty with only a designated path that made no sense. The plaque mentioned blueprint, and it didn't take a genius to notice that both rooms are the same size. The only thing that can apply from the western room to the eastern room is the designated path.

Thinking it through a bit, it became clear quickly that if you apply the designated path from the previous room to the spike filled walkway would allow one to pass safely.

Mentally patting myself on the back for solving the puzzle so quickly, I step forward, ready to put my theory to the test.

I stop in my tracks as Toriel's paw lands on my shoulder. Looking up at her with an eyebrow arched questioningly, I wonder why she stopped me.

"This is the puzzle, and I see that you believe that you have already solved it, but..." Toriel trails off, then offers me her paw. "Here, take my hand for a moment."

I have to hold back a frown. It is clear that, even though Toriel had realized that I had solved the puzzle on my own, she still wanted to guide me across. Again, I feel touched by how protective she is being of me, but I also feel a bit irritated by how much she is trying to do everything for me.

Nonetheless, I slip my hand in her paw without complaint. She is just worried about me, I tell myself, and even though she was being somewhat overprotective, I didn't want to worry her by insisting that I could cross the walkway on my own. I wouldn't be able to stand making her concerned just because I feel I can do this on my own.

Toriel smiled as I wordlessly comply. Walking behind her as she holds my hand, she stepped onto the walkway. The spikes immediately sink into the floor in front of us as she applies the designated path from the previous room to this spike filled stone walkway, the path being cleared in front of us step by step as we make multiple twists and turns, following the blueprint of the western room to a T, safely making it across without issue.

Releasing my hand as soon as we make it across, Toriel turns to me. "Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now," she justifies. "Come."

I once again follow her into the next room, and I briefly lose sight of Toriel as we pass through a short, dark tunnel. Once I emerge on the other side, I find Toriel waiting for me, bearing an unusually solemn look on her face. I blink and frown. Something about that expression raises my hackles.

"You have done excellently thus far, my child," despite her congratulatory words, her tone makes me tense up. "However... I have a difficult request to ask of you."

I look into her eyes, readying myself as one hundred and one possible requests she might have start flying through my mind.

"I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself," she said, still sounding solemn, and I nearly face fault at the anticlimactic request. "Forgive me for this."

Watching her as she turns around and briskly walks down the long room, I blink as she suddenly and without warning disappears from sight. Did she turn invisible?

My paranoia rears its ugly head, filling my mind with dozens of different reasons and motivations Toriel could have for asking me to do this seemingly benign and simple task. I look out over the rather long chamber, searching from some kind of hidden mechanisms that could play a role in yet more puzzles, looking for any reason why Toriel would want me to walk to the end of this chamber on my own. But my observation reveals nothing out of the ordinary. The room appears to be utterly empty.

Of course, being the paranoid Magus that I am, I immediately think that while there might not be anything visible that could be a cause for alarm, that doesn't mean that there isn't anything there.

I sigh and rub my face. Damn paranoia. Considering how overprotective Toriel has acted since meeting her, the very idea that she would deliberately place me in a dangerous situation is preposterous, yet something will not allow me to simply rely on my gut feeling and deductive reasoning, making me look for threats that just aren't there.

Shaking my head, I banish the thought. Toriel is trustworthy. There's no way the kind, overprotective motherly figure would put me in harm's way. She has faithfully guided and protected me the entire time we have been in the catacombs of the Ruins, and even comforted me earlier. Those actions have to be worth something, right?

With that thought in mind, I place my trust in Toriel and start walking.

That decision, though, did not stop the paranoid thoughts from festering in the back of my mind and, it's that exact same reason why, as I start walking down the chamber, why I still have my guard up.

I feel really stupid doing so, but I can't help myself.

Crossing the chamber barely took a minute, and I grew more and more tense for every step that I took, but in spite of that and my paranoid inclinations, nothing happened.

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Of course nothing happened.

Before I can really start calling myself an idiot in the questionable privacy of my own mind (on account of the Voice), Toriel emerged from behind a nearby pillar, smiling brightly.

"Greetings, my child. Do not worry, I did not leave you," she began with saying something patently Obvious. "I was merely behind this pillar the whole time."

Duh.

"Thank you for trusting me. However, there was an important reason for this exercise," she said, snagging my attention. "To test your independence."

Blinking, I wonder why she would need to test something like that.

"I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here. It's dangerous to explore by yourself."

Toriel continued on to say, her reasons starting to make a bit more sense, though not by much. What possible business does she need to attend to and why can't I tag along? Was she just planning on leaving me here alone without her protection? While I had no problem with it and I am confident in my ability to protect myself, it flies in the face of everything I have seen so far of her personality and overprotective tendencies.

Giving myself a mental headshake, I decide that it doesn't matter. I have chosen to trust Toriel and I am going to stick by my decision. I'm certain she has a good reason for this.

"Okay," I nod towards her, gaining a small smile in return.

"Thank you for trusting me once again, my child," she said. Then, to my surprise, she bent low to the ground. "Before I go, though..."

Toriel's longest clawed finger ghosts over the stone floor with clear purpose, Prana gathering at said clawed fingertip as she rapidly inscribes arcane symbols on the ground. In short order there are more then a dozen symbols etched on the ground arrayed in a circle, the lines making up their forms burning and flickering with light blue Prana

I watch with interest and with an overwhelming sense of familiarity. Though the symbols she is applying to the floor are completely alien to me, something about what Toriel is doing seems strangely familiar, as if I myself have done something similar to this many times before...

Toriel places her palm in the empty center of the symbols and mutters something beneath her breath as I sense a spike of Prana from her. My eyes go wide as the symbols suddenly multiply rapidly, covering every inch of the ground, walls and ceiling of the chamber. Said symbols burn brightly for a brief moment before disappearing from view.

"There," Toriel sighs as she stands back up, wiping her paws clean. "With that Perimeter Barrier up, no other monsters will think of entering this room for the rest of the day."

Perimeter Barrier? What Toriel had just done greatly reminded me of the well-known art of Bounded Fields, which can be set up either through the use of specialized spell words, symbols or a kind of evocation Magecraft that Magi employ to protect both their homes and workshops. And if her rather telling comment of other monsters now not entering this room, not to mention the name, tells me that their purpose is similar if not identical.

I too possessed the knowledge to set up Bounded Fields if required, but it would have taken me considerably longer then Toriel had taken to set up her intriguing 'Perimeter Barrier'.

"And before I leave, dear child," Toriel continued on to say, her paw digging into one of the pockets of her robe. "Take this, just to be safe."

She pulled her paw out of the pocket, and I raise an eyebrow at the object she revealed, "A cell phone?" I ask in disbelieve as I accept the cell phone from Toriel's hands. As a general rule of thumb, Magi tended to reject modern devices in favor of magical devices and Mysteries that can achieve similar results. I wasn't one of them, as I know how to use said device I was just given, but the fact that Toriel - who is some kind of magical creature whose nature I am uncertain of - just gave me one was enough to throw me.

I had never heard of a non-human being ever using human technology before. The thought of a Phantasmal Species using a cell phone was such a weird and crazy image that it was downright amusing.

I'm further surprised by the kind of cell phone that I was handed, which is positively ancient. It is one of those really old flip phones you had to flip open before you could use it, the kind of phone that lacks all the extra features of the more modern iPhone had like touchscreen and internet connection. Hell, it appeared to be such an old model that I even doubted it could take video or even pictures.

Briefly, I wonder where Toriel got this antiquated pile of junk and if I could get any money selling it an antique auction.

Mentally shaking my head, I decide that it doesn't matter how old the cell phone is. So long as it still worked I had no problem with it.

"My phone number is the only number in it and I always have my own phone with me," Toriel smiled and rubbed my head. "If you have a need for anything, just call."

I nodded and pocketed the cell Phone. "Of course. Thank you, Toriel."

"Think nothing of it, innocent one," she said, waving her paw dismissively at my thanks, and slowly turns to leave. "Be good, alright?"

Once again nodding my acceptance, Toriel smiles briefly at me before turning away completely and disappearing down the corridor, leaving me alone.

I stare a moment after her, listening to her steps getting progressively farther away until I cannot hear them anymore. Sighing to myself, I head towards the pillar Toriel had emerged behind from earlier and lean back against it as I sit down on the ground. I lay my staff down beside me as I take the opportunity to rest my feet for a moment.

Well, now what?

Having nothing better to do, I lean my head back against the pillar and close my eyes as I allow my mind to wander.

There are more then a few thoughts and questions on my mind right now. About my forgotten past. About the Voice I've been hearing. About my Craft. About my eyes. About monsters. All these topics occupy my mind, and I take the first moment of peace that I had since coming to the Underground to think about them.

My past is a topic I'm not really comfortable thinking about. My behavior since I woke up on that flowerbed has placed more then a few question marks on my past, some of which I'm not sure I want to know the answer for. While definitely curious - who wouldn't be? - I decide to focus on other topics for now.

There was this Voice I've been hearing since I woke up.

I had no clue if the words were being projected to my mind from afar or, and this is the far more worrying option, if they came for some kind of foreign entity inside of me. It's also possible I might be insane and that I am simply imagining the Voice in my head, but I feel pretty rational, so I doubt it.

Possession is not something unheard of in the Moonlit world, but the inherent Resistance I enjoyed to foreign energies as a Magus made such a prospect extremely difficult to occur. In the back of my mind, I hope that the Voice is simply some monster with an unusual and cruel sense of humor that is getting its jollies by playing a prank on me.

There is no way for me to know for certain.

Whatever the case, it definitely put me on edge, no question about that.

Turning my thoughts to my Craft, I frown. At the moment I only remember a few basic Mysteries: Structural Analysis, Reinforcement, Alteration, and I have the required skills and knowledge to set up some rudimentary Bounded Fields and I know the trick for exchanging Prana for physical energy, but there is this constant nagging feeling that I am still forgetting a lot. Beside the fact that I have got no clue what kind of Mysteries are stored inside of my Crest - the sudden activation of said Crest and that resulting point of light flash through my mind - I'm sure that there are also other spells that I had learned before coming to the Underground that are still missing from my recollection.

Said thoughts on my Craft eventually turn towards the changes I had noticed to my Circuits, not to mention the mystery of how my Crest and natural Circuits are pretty much identical in composition, output and quality.

The massive upgrade to my Circuit's quality and output is a massive boon, no question about that, but I couldn't think up of anyway how said upgrade possibly could have happened. The output and quality of one's Circuits are set the moment they are born. One's Circuits don't change or get more powerful over time. There are artificial methods to alter one's Circuits, yes, but they are inherently dangerous and I very much doubted said methods are capable of achieving the results I have perceived in my Circuits.

Pondering on it wouldn't give me an answer, I knew, so I moved on to the next topic.

I rub my closed eyelids. Since waking up my perception of the world had changed two times. First when I touched my SOUL - I open my eyes and briefly glance at the red sphere floating in front of my chest - and when I had fought Flowey.

What I had noticed so far is that when it happened I could in effect 'read' someone's SOUL, their most identifying traits becoming clear to me, and tiny dots appearing in everything around me, from rocks to flowers to even magical attacks, though I have no idea what these dots actually are. I could also see where a moving object is headed towards a few seconds in advance, as if I am gazing into the future of said object, while my perception of time slows down and I also gain an incredible clarity of perception.

The changes in my perception didn't explain how my own SOUL and those of the monsters I had encountered so far are visible when my perception of the world is normal. Or how said monsters give no indication whatsoever that they can also see their own SOUL or my SOUL for that matter. Do my eyes when inactive perhaps have a passive effect? Some Mystic Eyes are known to have functions that are always on even if the eyes aren't in use. Maybe that's why I can see SOULs even when my sight is normal?

Pausing, I rapidly run that last thought through my mind again several dozen times in quick succession. Then I promptly whack myself over the head.

Of course! Mystic Eyes! How in the name of the Root didn't I think of that earlier!

Oh, right.

Ten seconds ago the term Mystic Eyes didn't mean a damn thing to me as I didn't remember said term much less any knowledge associated with it. I must have learned about Mystic Eyes before losing my memory, and my idle musings must have lifted said knowledge from my subconscious mind on a fluke as my thoughts wandered.

This is a good thing. Recalling any kind of knowledge could only be a good thing. Especially knowledge that might help me further figuring out any of my abilities.

Focusing, I mentally summarize all I remember about the topic.

Mystic Eyes, a kind of Sorcery Trait that presents itself when a mutation occurs in the Circuits in and around the user's eyes. An ability that acts either as a single action spell that can be activated by simply running Prana through the Circuits positioned in and around the eyes or as a constant passive effect. There are also Mystic Eyes that have both a passive and active effect, which the Mystic Eyes that I apparently possess belonging to the latest category.

I, of course, don't remember how I came to possess this set of Mystic Eyes. Was I born with them? Did I gain them artificially? Or did the process that upgraded my Circuits so much also somehow grant me Mystic Eyes? There is simply no way for me to know.

There are many kinds of Mystic Eyes, with the eyes of Binding, Charm and Whisper being the most common. There also are more rare variants like the eyes of Flame, Illusion, Jinx, Enchantment and Contract, while some Mystic Eyes are so rare that they are only rumored to exist like the mythical Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

There even exists a kind of Mystic Eyes that combines all the abilities of Binding, Charm and Whisper. The name of said set of eyeballs, however, eludes me for now.

The problem is that none of the abilities those kinds of Mystic Eyes are said to grant match up with what I have noticed my own eyes to be capable of. There's as far as I know no kind of Mystic Eyes that allows one to look at and interpret one's own or another's SOUL. Not to mention all the other abilities that I have noticed so far my eyes to have.

But I can't deny that they exist, because I myself possess them.

"Well," I muse aloud to myself. "Now that's figured out, how do I use them?"

After all, just knowing that I have Mystic Eyes doesn't mean squat if I don't know how to activate them.

In both previous times they activated - when I touched my SOUL and I was fighting Flowey - Od was freely running through my Circuits. Perhaps if I just switch on the Circuits I had noted earlier are connected to my optic nerves and pupil...

With a thought and a mental trigger said Circuits switch on, channeling a tiny trickle of energy to my eyes. Nothing happens. Frowning to myself, I slowly and carefully, afraid that if I supply too much too fast I might harm myself, increase the amount of Prana being channeled to my eyes.

I can feel my eyes burn and I hum a pleased tune to myself as my perception of the world shifts.

The dots reappear in everything around me, as I raise my hand in front of my face, moving it from side to side, said hand appearing to move in slow motion. The same phenomena that I observed during the fight with Flowey is also present, showing me perfectly a few seconds in advance how my hand is going to move. It's honestly a rather odd sight for me, seeing a ghostly future prediction of my hand's movements, but it's also a rather cool and extremely helpful ability.

Lowering my hand, I turn my gaze toward my SOUL and gaze into the culmination of my being, the emotions and traits making it up being seen and interpreted automatically by my eyes.

The first thing I notice is Determination, the emotions so thick and strong that it almost seems to make up the whole of my SOUL. I also see respectable amounts of Patience, Bravery, Integrity, Perseverance, Kindness, and Justice contained within. There are other traits present too, but they are few and of little consequence in my opinion.

It's when I try to gaze even deeper, the slight burning feeling in my eyes flaring up as I supply more and more Od to them, that more is revealed.

Steel, so much and so pure that it seems to stretch out into the infinite, sheaths the very seat of my SOUL, the Steel representing the very core of my SOUL and being.

And yet, the longer I stare at it, the more I am convinced something fundamental, or maybe even several fundamental things, are missing from my SOUL. I can't be sure of this since I have never observed the SOUL of another human (or at least, as far as I could remember), but I'm getting the impression that, if the SOUL of a living being could be likened to a puzzle with varying pieces making up its whole, several of such pieces are bend, warped or in some cases, missing entirely in my case...

 _RING~~ RING~~_

My examination of my SOUL is interrupted by the sudden ringing of the cell phone in my jeans' pocket. Quickly turning my eyes off, I fumble for a moment as I take out said cell phone. Flipping it open, I accept the call with the push of a button, and before I can say anything Toriel immediately starts speaking.

"Hello!" She begins saying, voice bright. "This is Toriel. My errands are taking longer then I thought they would. You must wait five more minutes."

"Just five more minutes?" I repeat, just to be sure. "Sure, no problem."

"Thank you for being patient," I can hear Toriel's smile over the phone before she says goodbye and hangs up.

I click the cell phone closed and turn my gaze back to my SOUL, now appearing as a simple swirling sphere of incredible energy now that my eyes are no longer active.

Speaking about my eyes, they needed a name, didn't they? Something short and sweet that describes their abilities like with all the other kinds of Mystic Eyes. I couldn't just continue calling them my Mystic Eyes, now could I?

The answer came quickly to me. Just a bare second of thought and the proverbial lightbulb lit up.

The Mystic Eyes of the SOUL.

It made perfect sense to call them that, after all. The fact that my eyes made SOULs visible and interpreted them is the ability that most jumps out to me.

I hummed a pleased note to my myself. This momentary pit stop until Toriel comes back has payed unexpected benefits. Even if I don't have a clue how my eyes did what they did, their abilities will definitely come in handy if any monster were to attack me like that Froggit earlier had done.

Of course, said thought turns my focus back to monsters. I had several questions regarding them swirling in my mind, mostly regarding what they actually are, what their Thaumaturgy is capable of and any other abilities they might possess, and why some of them would be hostile to me on sight. They clearly aren't mindless beast like many of the Phantasmal Species that populate this world are. They had to have a reason, some kind of justification, to attack me.

Toriel had to know what that reason was. It's a question I had wanted to ask earlier, but Toriel had quickly directed me to the Dummy before I could and I had been distracted by the need to help fix the Dummy's damaged body.

Oh, well. I could ask her when she comes back for me. I just hoped she wouldn't make me wait much longer. There's only so much time someone can sit still and think deep thoughts in an empty room before it starts to wear on them.

It shouldn't take much longer now.

"..."

Why do I get the impression that I just jinxed myself?

* * *

I am annoyed. I am really annoyed right now. I am annoyed beyond all known reason.

 _RING~~ RING~~_

"Hello. This is Toriel. I found what I was looking for. But before I could take it... A small, white puppy snatched it away. How odd. Do dogs even LIKE flour? Err, that is an unrelated question, of course. It will take a little longer. Please understand."

 _Click._

I don't get annoyed quickly, or at least that's the impression I am getting from my fractured memories.

 _RING~~ RING~~_

 _* You hear heavy panting on the other end of the phone..._

The Voice is back. Thankfully, the annoyance within me that has steadily been building up for around a good hour now and is on the verge of crescendoing into full blown aggravation doesn't allow me to truly feel alarmed at the fact that the Voice in my head doesn't seem to be leaving me alone anytime soon.

"Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!" the insistent barking of what sounded like a small pug come over the phone I am holding to my ear. My left eyebrow twitches.

 _* You hear a distant voice._

"Stop, please!" the voice might have been distant, but it was unmistakably Toriel's voice. "Come back here with my cell phone!"

 _Click._

I have been sitting still for over an hour now, looking at the same blank, purple wall to the point my eyes are starting to ache. I've used the intervening time to ponder my situation and any topic or question that crossed my mind.

But as I had thought earlier, sitting still and thinking deep thoughts in an empty room eventually starts to wear on a person.

 _RING~~ RING~~_

"Snore... Snore... Snore..." I had to hold back from gritting my teeth at the aggravating noise.

 _* It sounds like a small, white dog is sleeping on the cell phone._

The damn Voice wasn't helping with its constant commentary, and why in the name of the Root is commentating on such trivial things?

 _* You hear a distant voice._

"Helloooo? Little puppy? Where are you? I will give you a nice pat on the head!"

 _* The snoring stops._

"... If you return my cell phone!"

 _* The snoring resumes._

 _Click._

I am a good kid, I tell myself. Something proven by the fact in spite of my annoyance I have not yet gone against Toriel's implicit instructions to stay in the room.

It should be noted, however, that by this point my left eye is twitching something fierce and that I am half a second away from bashing my head face first into the pillar I am leaning against. I could palm my face to show how exasperated I am, but sometimes that just isn't enough.

 _RING~~ RING~~_

"Snore... Snore... ACHOO!"

 _* It sounds like a small, white dog sneezing in its sleep._

No shit, Sherlock!

 _* You hear a distant voice._

"Here, pup-pup-puppy!" again Toriel's distant voice comes over the Phone. "Oh, dear. I should not keep my guest waiting any longer."

There was a brief silence, only interrupted by the continued snoring by the thief of a little puppy.

"... Oh, no. How long has it been since I have talked to him? Perhaps he has been calling the phone, and..."

The clear worry in her voice gives me a bad feeling that easily overshadows both my annoyance with her and the damn dog.

"... Here, puppy!"

 _Click._

Okay, that does it!

Standing up, I huff to myself. There's a clear limit to my Patience, despite the respectable amount of it I have in my SOUL, and it has finally been eroded.

Besides, if things continue as they have up to this point I could probably end up waiting the entire damn day in this monotonous purple room. While I feel bad for disobeying Toriel, I am no longer willing to wait anymore, and I know that sitting still and doing nothing while Toriel is getting progressively more worried about me will make me feel even worse. So against my better judgement, I stand up from my sitting position as I make my way towards the corridor Toriel had disappeared through earlier, staff in hand.

I just need to get to Toriel, I think to myself. To do that I just need to solve whatever myriad of puzzles are ahead and get past any hostile monster that might attack me on sight. Then I can help her catch this annoying dog and get her phone back.

How hard could it be?

"Ugh, I just jinxed myself again, didn't I?" I groan loudly, just barely resisting the urge to smack myself over the head.

* * *

I pass the threshold of the Perimeter Barrier Toriel had set up earlier, feeling the tiny threads of Prana tingle across my skin as I did so. The second I step outside the Barrier, I feel a tiny shift in reality behind me, and I glance back to see not an open pathway leading back into the room I came from, but instead a bare, purple wall.

Raising an eyebrow, I extend my senses. Despite the fact that I know that the wall is fake and my sensitivity to magical phenomena as a Magus, I can barely tell that the wall behind me is fake and not real, an illusion conjured by Toriel's Perimeter Barrier. Hell, I could barely even feel there is Prana in said construct. And if it weren't for the fact that I had passed through said Barrier and made brief contact with it just now, I wouldn't have been able to tell even that much.

Impressive. A Bounded Field of this quality, one that works on a subconscious level to keep anyone passing by it completely ignorant of its existence, would be the mark of a first rate Magus.

It's even more impressive when you take into account it barely took Toriel half a minute to set this thing up. If Perimeter Barriers can be likened to Bounded Fields, then Toriel must be highly proficient in this kind of Thaumaturgy in order to be able to manage such a feat.

Continuing on as I make a mental note to ask Toriel about the mechanics behind Perimeter Barriers later, I walk down the torch lined corridor. I emerge in a much more well lit up room, where I am quick to realize that I am not alone anymore.

And it isn't Toriel.

Immediately on high alert, a bare my staff on the small being directly in front of me, a figure that is very familiar.

A Froggit is squatting on the ground, both the bulbous eyes on its face and the pair between its legs are trained on me, its nostrils flaring.

I immediately notice the tiny patch of torn skin that is smeared with dried blood above one of its eyes, and I take on an aggressive stance at the revelation that this is the very same Froggit who had attacked me not too long ago.

The Froggit noticed this, and in an apparent bid to avoid any ugliness raises its front paws of the ground in the universal gesture of meaning no harm.

"Ribbit, ribbit. Wait, human! I'm not here to fight you," the Froggit speaks through its croaks. "Ribbit, ribbit. I just want to talk."

Suspicious, but unwilling to attack first, I marginally lower my staff and glare at the frog-like monster.

"Well, I'm listening. Speak."

Froggit gulped at my no nonsense tone, the vocal sag under its jaw suddenly expanding at the sudden intake of air.

"Ribbit, ribbit. I wanted to apologize," Froggit said, and I blink owlishly at it. "For attacking you, I mean. It's the dumbest thing I have ever done, and I have no excuse."

Caught off guard by the apology, I frown at the Froggit, not really sure what to make of it. The Froggit isn't making any hostile gesture to me and I can't feel any hostile intent from it, but I wasn't able to tell it was hostile to me last time either before it attacked me without any warning. And I can't exactly take it at its words, now can I?

I briefly think that it would be wonderful if I could somehow be sure if the Froggit is lying or not, some kind of tell that could make it damn sure if its words are trustworthy. But then I realize that I am able to see much more then that with the application of a bit of Prana.

The Circuits leading to my eyes switch on, and suddenly the world has several extra layers of depth for me alone to observe. Everything slows down to a crawl, dozens of dots appear in my field of vision while my gaze penetrates the Froggit's SOUL to the point that it becomes like an open book to me.

"Tell me," I said, my voice flat and devoid of any infliction. "How can I know that you are telling the truth? That this isn't some ploy to make me lower my guard?"

My activated Mystic Eyes bore into Froggit, who squirms on the floor at my damning questions, with all the intensity of a laser as my enhanced perception takes in every little detail in its stance and facial expression. If there's any kind of tell of a bold faced lie, my eyes will definitely catch it.

Froggit shuffled anxiously in front of me as its mouth open and closed, trying and failing to think up of an adequate answer. Finally, it lowered its eyes in shame.

"Ribbit, ribbit. There's no way I can prove my sincerity to you," Froggit muttered. "All I can give you, ribbit, ribbit, is my word."

My eyes narrow. Neither my enhanced perceptions nor my instinct gave any sign that Froggit was lying or feeding me a half truth. The monsters stance is relaxed, open, and friendly, with no hint of deceit in its facial expression, eyes and demeanor. Furthermore...

I focus on the small, swirling white SOUL of Froggit, and peer into it.

Froggit's SOUL spoke of a calm and placid personality that neither sought out nor desired conflict. Like Toriel's SOUL, its main attributes are love, hope, and compassion, with a great many of different and varying traits coming together to form the basis of a placid, almost meek, nature, one that utterly abhors battle.

Most importantly, it shows me beyond even the faintest shadow of a doubt that at its core Froggit is a good person.

I'm confused. Why would anyone with such a kind and gentle SOUL, someone who is ill at ease at the more notion of battle, suddenly attack a ten year old kid? It didn't make any sense. It went completely against Froggit's nature.

"Why did you attack me then?" I asked, honestly curious.

Froggit blanched at the question. The frog-like monster looked scared to answer. I frowned.

"Ribbit, ribbit. O-oh, um, that's not important," Froggit said hastily, a bit too hastily. "It's not anything important, really."

Froggit's SOUL, in the depths of which I could easily see a sudden maelstrom of fear and trepidation, shuddered, as if in distress as the words left the monster's mouth.

I knew instantly what that meant.

"Liar."

Froggit closed its eyes and lowered its head, confirming my suspicion of what the SOUL's reaction meant. Hmm, I guess there is more truth to that old saying that 'lying is an affront to the SOUL' then whoever coined it could have known, especially if the culmination of one's being reacts like _that_ to a lie.

With these eyes, it's impossible to effectively lie to me. People's lips might spew lie after lie, but to my eyes their SOUL will always show if they are telling the truth or not. I feel pleased that my hunch was correct. Clearly, these eyes have more uses than I had initially anticipated.

Still, that meant that the Froggit _did_ have a reason to attack me, one that is damn important and somehow justifies assaulting me without any warning.

And it might be strange, but I am definitely curious what that reason is.

"I don't like being lied to," I said, positively growling. "You did have a reason to attack me, and you still do for all I know. How can I trust you if you won't tell me why?"

Froggit looked like it was caught between a rock and a hard place, its eyes jumping from my face to all over the room as its lips moved, trying to say something but no sound emerging. It clearly hadn't been expecting the sudden new direction the conversation had taken.

"You better start telling the truth," I growl, my Mystic Eyes still activated as I look Froggit dead in the eye. "Or I will consider you my enemy and act accordingly."

Froggit looked back at me for a long moment, seeing how serious I was. Finally, it closed its eyes and sighed sadly.

"Ribbit, ribbit. Fine, I will tell you the truth," Froggit said, its voice heavy with something I could not entirely place. "Ribbit, ribbit. I'm warning you, though, it's not pretty."

I gesture for the Froggit to get on with it, not amused by its paltry attempt to make me retract my question.

Froggit shifted uneasily.

"Ribbit, ribbit. Human, do you know why we monsters live down here in the Underground, instead of on the Surface together with humanity?"

Frowning, I ponder what Froggit had just alluded to. It was rather odd that all monsters lived down here and that humanity was entirely ignorant of their existence, yes, but most mundane humans didn't know anything about the Moonlit world or had any inkling of the non-human creatures that live in the shadows of said world either, except what is spoken about in folklore and myths that many cultures produced before the existence of Thaumaturgy was hidden from the majority of the world many centuries ago.

Most Phantasmal Species, a collective name for magical non-human beings, either live in areas with a low density human populations, are extremely difficult to reach, or have migrated to another plane of reality. Because of these facts the population of Phantasmal Species that inhabit the world is at an all time low.

If looked at from that perspective, one could consider the monster's segregated existence from humanity down here to be par for the course.

No, the damning thing was that I, a Magus, someone who knows far more of the world's hidden side then most people, had never heard of them before today. It could be that I have simply lost any kind of knowledge about monsters thanks to my fractured memories, but I doubted it since my knowledge on Phantasmal Species seemed complete.

And THAT little fact, above all, didn't add up.

That Froggit had even brought it up means that there must be an important reason for it, that there's more behind the monster isolation from the rest of the world down here then is immediately apparent, and I find my eyes widening as the realization hits me.

"You don't live down here by choice, do you?"

Froggit croaked sadly, which its SOUL reflected all to clearly in its depths.

Something tells me that I won't like what Froggit is about to tell me.

 _* You feel a cold pit forming down in your stomach._

"Ribbit, ribbit. Human, do your people remember the Great War?" Froggit asked another question, one that I answered with a raised eyebrow. "Apparently, you don't."

Froggit sighed and absently shifted on its legs and forearms.

"I'm not an historian, so I can only tell you the abridged version known to all monsters. If you want to know more then the bare bones, it would be better to ask Toriel when you see her again."

I nodded, mentally readying myself for some uncomfortable truths. Then I gestured for Froggit to continue.

Froggit rubbed the side of its face. Its eyes, including the set barely visible in between its forelegs, close as it lets out an explosive breath. "Listen, human. What I am about to tell you isn't a pleasant subject by any stretch of the imagination, one that I'd rather not dwell on for long, so I'm just going to focus on the essentials, okay?"

Growing impatient at how Froggit was constantly stalling, I gave a sharp nod and told the monster to get on with it.

Froggit's eyes opened and locked with mine, "Ribbit, ribbit. The Great War was a short but brutal conflict between humanity and monsterkind some three thousand years ago. The cause for the conflict is unknown, though we do have theories, but if the records in Waterfall are to be believed it was humanity that instigated it."

I listened with rapt attention, all the while the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach grow heavier with every word spoken.

Froggit's nostrils flared, "Ribbit, ribbit. Conservative estimates put the death toll of monsterkind in that two month long war to be a little over half our population at the time, around one hundred thousand monsters in total," the frog-like monster said, and I gasp at the number. Froggit nodded grimly. "The Great War was a terrible and a very much one sided affair. As far as we know, there were absolutely no human casualties. Every time we tried to fight back ended up with our forces crushed and routed."

I frowned heavily. Are monsters really that outmatched by humans? Froggit didn't appear to be all that powerful, true, but Flowey had been incredibly dangerous, and a single misstep during our battle could have been the death of me. And Toriel... power practically _radiated_ off of her, enough that her mere approach had put me on edge.

At least some monsters _had_ to have the power to kill humans. I have already met two who are serious threat if they wanted to be, and I haven't been inside the Underground for over a day. On top of that, I am a Magus, someone who generally is far more dangerous and capable in combat then most mundane humans.

If monsters could be a serious threat to _me_ , then they had to be at the very least equally as deadly to the common foot soldiers that the fast majority of humanities forces consisted of some three thousand years ago. Magecraft was more bountiful and widespread back in the old days, yes, but that didn't mean that everyone could actually use it. Even in the Age of the Gods only a very small minority of the human race had the required prerequisites and the talent necessary to be able to use Magecraft.

What Froggit was telling me didn't add up.

It did believe that it was telling the truth, though. Its SOUL made that abundantly clear.

"Ribbit, ribbit. After we capitulated," Froggit continued on to say, breaking my chain of thought. "What was left of our species was gathered at the base of Mt. Ebbot at the orders of the human leaders that started the war. Then they forced us into the caverns that reside underneath this mountain, and seven of their greatest wizards combined their powers to create a Barrier that has trapped us down here for millennia. This has been our reality for generations."

I felt somewhat nauseous as Froggit finished its story. No wonder at least some monsters would be hostile at the very sight of me. If what Froggit had just told me is as true as it believes it to be, then their people have been trapped underground for over three thousand years thanks to the actions of humans.

Any able minded person would at the very least resent the one responsible or the one they held accountable for it. To be fair, I, like the rest of modern humanity, had nothing to do with the Great War, but I could definitely see why some monsters would lash out at any humans that stumbled into their prison.

In light of this information Froggit's actions start to make sense. The attacking me part, not the part where it apologized for attacking me. Did it have a change of heart? And if so, why?

"There's more to the story than that, isn't there?" I asked the rhetorical question.

I looked at Froggit. The frog-like monster looked incredibly reluctant to continue. The fear and trepidation that has been clearly visible in the Froggit's SOUL ever since I asked why it had attacked me spiked sharply. What in the name of the Root was it so afraid of?

"Ribbit, ribbit. Human, the Barrier that keeps us here, the Barrier that has kept us from seeing sunlight for over three thousand years..."

Froggit looked down and clenched its paws, obviously forcing itself to continue.

"There's one way, and only one way, to break the Barrier and set us free," Froggit looked back up, and I am startled to see tears in them. "And that's with human SOULs."

 _* Your veins turn to ice._

I take a sudden step back from Froggit, the still activated Mystic Eyes of the SOUL showing me that Froggit had told me nothing but the truth, and in my shock the Voice that has been my constant companion since waking up in the Underground sounded almost mocking even as its infliction remained the same ghostly whisper.

"Seven human SOULs are necessary to break the Barrier," Froggit continued on to say, but it sounded distant to my ears, faint.

The world fell away around me, and even as it continued to speak I was so far withdrawn in the depths of my own mind that I could no longer register Froggit's words or even take in my surroundings. In that very moment, utterly unknown to everyone but myself and maybe the Voice, a violent conflict was raging in my mind.

I didn't know it at the time, but this short and fierce conflict would decide the fate of multitudes.

My dream, my very reason for existence, is to be a Hero, a person who puts his own needs and wants secondary for the betterment of others. In short, the life of a Hero is the very embodiment of sacrifice. A true Hero spends his time bettering his skills, putting in incredible effort to hone their prowess in battle, giving their blood, sweat and tears in order to uphold ideals that drive them ever onward in the face of constant struggle, sacrifice, and adversity, risking their life and limb for the sake of other people.

That's the kind of person that I admire and the kind of person I aspire to be.

 _* Then why do you hesitate, you ask yourself._

The Voice perfectly echoed the inner struggle I am facing right now, one that is so fundamental to me as a person that I had to lean heavily on my staff to keep myself from toppling over as I desperately tried to work out the wild thoughts and emotions surging through me.

By all rights to satisfy my ideal of being a Hero, of being a person that always puts the needs of others before mine, I should voluntarily hand over my SOUL. In order to truly honor that conviction, I should give the monsters the key to their freedom, because that is what Heroes do; sacrifice their own lives and happiness for the sake of others.

My clenched hands squeeze the staff I am using for support, making it creak lowly as the wood strains underneath the pressure.

But I don't want to. Something inside of me rebels at the mere thought of simply giving away my SOUL. And while I'll admit that I fear death like any other sane person, I don't have a sense of self-preservation like most people do, especially when it comes to aiding other people, so that wasn't stopping me either.

It should be so easy and clear cut, at least for me. I held a piece of the puzzle that the monsters needed to attain freedom. I give the monsters my SOUL, and they will be one step closer to getting that freedom. Yet it isn't. Something is stopping the automatic reaction of offering up my SOUL, but I don't have a clue what, and that scares me.

And that uncertainty truly frightens me much more then I am willing to admit.

"Ribbit, ribbit. Human, are you alright?"

The concerned words of Froggit pierce through the fog that had settled over my mind. Taking a deep breath, I clamp down on the wild thoughts and emotions and calm myself down by force, finding my center through sheer bloody minded stubbornness.

"That's why you attacked me, wasn't it?" I asked, my voice raspy. "You need my SOUL."

No wonder Froggit hadn't been giving off any impression of hostility when it attacked me before. Despite humanities ancestors being the cause for the monster's imprisonment down here, I could see no hidden resentment in its SOUL. Froggit didn't hate or even blame me for monsterkind's confinement, it just needed my human SOUL in order to finally set its people free. I didn't sense any hostility because there was none there to begin with. Froggit had attacked me because it had to. Hell, considering the composition of its SOUL, it probably saw the attempt at taking my SOUL as an distasteful job it had no choice but to do.

But that then of course brought up the question why Froggit was no longer interested in taking my SOUL, and why it apologized for attacking me in the first place.

"Why won't you attempt to take my SOUL again?" I asked, sounding uncertain. "Why even apologize? You did what had to be done. You have nothing to feel sorry for..."

"Yes I do! All of monsterkind does!"

The sudden shout from the former mild mannered Froggit was enough to startle me, and I flinch, taking another step back from it, feeling deeply uncertain at how to respond to that. Froggit took a deep, shuddering breath, and once again looked me in the eyes.

"Ribbit, ribbit. Human, you aren't the first of your kind to come here," Froggit confirmed one of my fears. "And all of them died and had their SOULs taken."

Froggit fell silent for a brief moment, then spoke up quietly.

"Ribbit, ribbit. Some of them were but innocent children, just like you..."

 _* You feel like you have been punched in the gut._

Indeed I did, and I had to fight to keep my lunch down. This... this was beyond anything I could have imagined, even in my deepest, darkest nightmares.

War and what could only be called genocide. The imprisonment of an entire group of intelligent beings for over three millennia for reasons unknown. The required killings of the guilty and innocent alike in order to set those people free...

"Ribbit, ribbit. I myself I have never encountered a human before you," Froggit said, clenching its paws. "But the thought that the freedom of monsterkind is to be paid by the blood of those unlucky enough to find their way into the Underground, including children, is enough to make me want to vomit. When I attacked you earlier, I had to convince myself that I had no other choice, that it was my duty to my people to take your SOUL, as I am certain many others have done before me..."

The frog-like monster's voice became but a whisper.

"But then you showed concern for me after I attacked you, and I could no longer delude myself."

Froggit's eyes hardened then and its SOUL pulsed as if to underscore the conviction of what it told me next. "Ribbit, ribbit. Human, while I am too weak to be of any real aid to you, I do have some advice if your willing to listen," Froggit took a deep breath, "It's widely rumored in the Underground that one of the humans that came before you, a child just like you, someone with great Integrity, willingly gave up their SOUL without fighting back once they learned of our plight," I gasped quietly at this. "I am telling you to _not_ follow in their example. No one should have to give up their life, especially a young child, for such a bloody cause no matter how well intended it is."

I hesitated agreeing to that. Despite something holding me back from doing the exact same thing that kind soul before me had done, the urge to offer up my SOUL of my own volition was still very much there. Could I selfishly hold onto my SOUL in spite of what I have learned? Did I have that right?

Froggit must have seen the conflict in my eyes, because it immediately spoke up.

"Ribbit, ribbit. Please, human. Promise me that you won't kill yourself for our sake. It might bring us freedom, but the price would be too great to bear."

I wanted to agree. I really, _really_ wanted to agree. But just like something unknown was keeping me from giving up my SOUL, my ideal of being a Hero kept me from opening my mouth and simply saying yes and binding myself to that promise. Again, Froggit noticed this, and opened its mouth to plead with me.

"Please."

In the end, it was not the instinctive desire to preserve one's own life that is innate to most living beings or the unknown reason that kept me from handing over my SOUL as my ideals require of me that made me say yes to Froggit's pleading, but the utterly broken sound carried by that one whispered word.

"... Okay, I promise."

Froggit immediately brightened and shot me a grateful look, one that I didn't deserve. I had already realized by that point that even without the promise I would have held on to my SOUL regardless. My hesitation to unquestionably follow my ideal of being a Hero in spite of my convictions more than proves that.

"Ribbit, ribbit. Thank you, human," Froggit smiled as if a great weight had been lifted from its shoulders.

"Anything... anything else that I should know?" I asked hesitantly. Despite not being a historian, Froggit had shown itself to be rather knowledgeable.

"Ribbit, ribbit. I have one more thing to ask of you, human, and then I will be off," the frog-like monster sighed. "If a monster attacks you in the future, at least try and act in a way that will make a monster less inclined to fight you, and if they are no longer interested in taking your SOUL and back off, please, show some mercy, human."

"Of course," I readily agreed.

"I realize that this is a highly unreasonable thing to ask after making you swear to preserve your own life, but please, human, if and when other monsters attack you, at least try and resolve the conflict without bloodsh-"

Froggit blinked, cocking its head when it realized that I had already agreed. Its lips were still moving but no sound emerged.

"Ribbit, ribbit. You do?" It asked in disbelieve, which then rapidly faded away as it came back to its senses. "That's... good. Thanks for being so understanding, human."

I nodded. In truth, I had already resolved in the privacy of my own mind to not kill any monster that I might encounter as I journey ahead if I could help it. In spite of the fact that monsters had killed every human being that had stepped foot in their domain, they still were every bit victims in my eyes, just like those unfortunate humans.

Having endured genocide. Being trapped down here for over three thousand years with the only way out through the power of the SOULs of the ones who trapped them in the first place. Being forced to kill innocents in order to attain their freedom...

Even if some of their actions were nothing less then reprehensible, they were at least understandable, and monsters like Toriel and Froggit had made very clear that not all of them agreed with killing any human they encountered to accomplish the very understandable goal of seeing sunlight again.

That, combined with the fact that they were casualties of their circumstances and ancient human cruelty, labelled them victims to my mind.

 _* You swear to yourself that you will one day set the monsters free without giving up your own life, and that quiet resolution fills you with determination._

The Voice murmured in my mind, echoing the thoughts and intentions that had yet to fully form. It carried a note of something that I couldn't quite place, but if I had to make a guess it sounded almost like a combination of surprised, approving and grateful.

Whatever the Voice was, it had neatly summed up what I was intending on doing before I had even consciously realized it.

It shouldn't be surprising, though. After all, isn't that what a Hero of Justice would do? What a righteous person would do if they could, even if they weren't willing to give up their life and very own SOUL to do so?

No, even now that I have resolved to stubbornly and selfishly hang onto my SOUL, I still very much intended on setting the monsters free.


	3. Chapter 3: The Ruins, Part 2

**SWORDTALE**

 **Chapter 3: The Ruins Part 2**

After Froggit had said its piece it left me alone in the chamber, saying that it needed to return to its family. Froggit's words and my reaction to them had left me a lot to think about, and I had a brief, quiet moment of introspection to myself. Then I looked around the chamber, truly taking it in now that there aren't any more distractions.

It was pretty small like most rooms in the Ruins, but to my surprise the floor of the room is littered with red colored leaves. In some places these leaves formed thick carpets while other areas of the floor are entirely clear, showing the same dull, purple floor. The path ahead branched in this chamber, with a passageway on both my left and right hand side that headed into uncertain destinations and much more certain danger.

Before I could choose which direction I was going to take, though, the cell phone in my pocket suddenly started ringing.

 _RING~~ RING~~_

Barely restraining a twitching eyebrow, I reach into my pocket, take out the flip phone and with supreme reluctance I flip it open. Accepting the call, I placed the cell phone against my ear, preparing myself to hear another round of aggravating dog noises.

To my pleasant surprise, however, Toriel's voice comes loud and clear over the connection instead.

"Hello? Hello? This is Toriel," she sounded calm, I noted, but I could still detect a note of urgency in her voice. "My apologies. A strange dog kidnapped my phone."

I had to hold back a snort. Even with my fractured memories that had to be one of the strangest sentences I have ever heard.

"So if you called, I could not have helped you," Toriel continued. "However, I have recovered it. And you are still in the room, are you not?"

"Uhh..." was my eloquent response.

"What a good child you are," she said brightly before I could actually answer.

"Toriel, wait, I-," I began to say, automatically looking to correct her incorrect assumption.

"There are a few puzzles ahead that I have yet to explain," she once again ran roughshod all over me. "It would be dangerous to try to solve them yourself. Be good, alright?"

 _Click._

I stared at the now silent phone in my left hand in consternation. I am getting the distinct impression that Toriel isn't all that used to talking over the phone.

Now I feel really guilty for going against Toriel's instructions in leaving the room when it had proven to be wholly unnecessary. That's not even mentioning the fact that I just pretty much lied by omission.

Oh, well. I could always just turn back and return to the chamber protected by the Perimeter Barrier and wait for Toriel to come to pick me up. Or at least, that's the thought I have on my mind as I start to turn to do just that, only to realize belatedly that there's only a uniform, blank purple wall behind me.

I face palmed. The Perimeter Barrier meant to protect me from any nosy monsters now also hid the chamber from my mind now that I had left its inner circumference and now keeps me from returning to the chamber. Talk about irony.

Frowning, I start to walk forward, planning to simply feel along the length of the wall until I find the passageway. As soon as I take the first step, though, I am hit by a feeling of momentary vertigo and I had to halt and steady myself from falling over.

Rubbing the side of my face, I look up and frown in confusion. What was I doing again?

Shaking my head, I turn back around from the blank wall. There was nothing in that direction, as I can no longer access the protected chamber, so my only choice right now is either left or right and hope for the best.

* * *

I emerge in yet another hallway, and had to hold back a frown. I had first gone left, but the chamber that direction had led me to was a dead end with the only notable thing inside of it being a bowl containing some kind of candy perched on a pedestal in the middle of the room.

Despite being far more mature in both my thinking and mannerisms then I should be for my age, I am still a kid at heart, so I gladly took the single piece I was allowed to take according to the sign affixed to the pedestal. The ever present voice in my head helpfully supplied the candy's name - really, Monster Candy? How generic - as I pocketed said piece of candy and scanned it with my Structural Analysis to make sure it is safe for consumption.

It is, by the way, but my Mystery did reveal something peculiar about the candy in question...

Shaking my head free from such distracting thoughts, I continue walking. Seeing as the path left didn't lead anywhere, I had doubled back and had taken the only other path I could take, bringing me to yet another long hallway that is lined with the ever present flickering torches.

As I walk, I take care to keep my eyes peeled. Froggit's story had cleared up why Toriel acted so overprotective of me, and I could most definitely understand, and why some if not many other monsters might attack me, something that is equally understandable in my eyes.

That did mean, though, that going ahead I had to keep my guard up, lest my SOUL end up being taken from my by force.

I huff to myself in annoyance. So much for being paranoid.

Of course, there are many other ways I can end up dying, something that I am reminded of as I take another step and I feel the floor beneath my feet shudder.

Acting completely on my instinct and my reflexes, I throw myself backwards. Just in time too as the floor I had just been standing on gives way, the apparently thin and quite brittle purple floor crumbling into pieces, with said pieces disappearing down into the dark gullet revealed underneath it.

Standing back up from my crouched position, I cautiously walk forward, afraid that the floor might give way again, and look down the newly made hole.

My eyes narrowed. Toriel had spoken of puzzles, yes, but she had said nothing about the Ruins being structurally unstable. Now I have to be even more careful going forward.

I place my hand on the ground and switch on a single Circuit. Using Structural Analysis, I Grasp the entirety of the floor in this hallway, revealing to me where it would not be capable of bearing my weight. My spell reveals that only includes a small area around the newly made hole, the rest of the hallway being quite structurally sound.

Standing up and quickly Reinforcing my legs, I make a running leap and clear that area in a single bound, getting past it without any problem.

Humming to myself, I think to myself that Magecraft is dead useful in many more situations than just combat. I enter the next chamber, and then I find myself pausing as my cell phone once again starts buzzing.

 _RING~~ RING~~_

"Hello? This is Toriel," for a brief instant, I wonder to myself who else could possibly call me on this phone, and if I should bother asking Toriel. "For no reason in particular... Which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch?"

I blink, thrown by the unexpected question. Then I think about it for a moment and I honestly answer, "Cinnamon."

"Oh, I see!" Toriel exclaimed, sounding as bright as ever. "Thank you for very much!"

 _Click._

Frowning, I wonder what that was about.

I close the phone and I have barely taken another step when it starts ringing again.

 _RING~~ RING~~_

Somewhat exasperated, I once more quickly flip the cell phone open and hold it to my ear, from which, surprise surprise, Toriel's voice emerges.

"Hello? This is Toriel. You do not DISLIKE butterscotch, do you?" she asks. "I know what your preference is, but would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate?"

I have a sneaking suspicion what Toriel is planning, and finding that I have no problems with it, I quickly answer that I have nothing against butterscotch.

"Right, right, I understand," she mutters, sounding pleased with my answer. "Thank you for being patient, by the way."

 _Click._

With those words she once more closes the connection before I can correct her, making me huff. Really, for such a polite person she is rather short over the phone.

I pocket the phone, and look around. The room I am in is pretty big compared the rooms that came before. A long line of sharp, metal spikes runs the width of the chamber, blocking the way forward. There's yet another raised grey tile in the middle of the chamber, and oddly enough a large, grey rock.

Looking around for a second time, I spy a grey plaque fastened to the wall on my left hand side.

"Three out of four grey rocks recommend you push them."

I mutter the hint provided. This one was strange, since I only saw a single grey rock in the room, though it did make pretty clear how one is supposed to progress here.

I push the rock onto the grey tile, not even needing to Reinforce my muscles as the rock proves to be surprisingly light. The metal spikes immediately recede into the floor the second that the rock slides onto the tile, clearing the way forward into the Ruins.

About to continue on, I find myself pausing as I hear a faint noise that took me a moment to place. My eyes widen as I recognize the faint sound of beating wings, and I turn in the direction it's coming from.

A small creature hesitantly approaches me. It's about the size of of my fist and a small white sheet with tattered edges cloaks its body, only exposing its tiny and incredibly thin arms and legs. A trio of holes had been cut into the sheet to reveal its black eyes and mouth, and a pair of small, insectile wings flutter on its back, keeping it aloft.

 _* Whimsun approached meekly._

The voice supplies the monster's name. Like it had said, Whimsun was very meekly closing the distance in between us, and it looked so scared and sad at the same time that I had trouble considering it to be a serious threat. Honestly, I took one look at the monster and it instantly made we want to console it.

"I have no choice..." it whispered as it approached, and I felt a flash of anger at the monster's continued imprisonment and a flash of pity at what it felt it had to do.

Aiming to head off any conflict, I step forward and open my mouth, seeking to both reason with and console the monster. It was obviously scared out of its mind, and I don't think that I could bear fighting anyone in such a state.

 _* Halfway through your first word, Whimsun bursts into tears and runs away._

I blink, mentally half a second behind as I see the small monster do just that and fly away from me as fast as humanly possible.

 _* This monster is too sensitive to fight..._

I noticed, I dryly think to my myself. Silently watching as Whimsun leaves the chamber, I'm not quite certain if I could have done anything else that wouldn't have made it run away from me in tears. Shame wells up in me in having caused such a reaction in anyone, though I realize that there's nothing I could have done to prevent this.

 _* You won!_

Unlike what the voice was telling me, I didn't feel like I had won. Not one bit. I honestly felt like a bastard, and I had half a mind to go after Whimsun and try to make it feel better. I am smart enough to acknowledge that doing so would likely just upset it again and sent it running - flying - for a second time.

I would have to find a some other way to make it up to it later in another way if I encounter it again.

* * *

Having left the room where I had sent another being flying away from me in fear - something that I am still smarting about - with quick steps, I make me way across a narrow corridor, only to come to a halt at what I am presented with as I step foot in the next chamber.

"This place definitely needs maintenance," I mutter to myself as I take in the scene.

This is the largest room I have encountered so far, which makes it all the more unbelievable that the entire expanse of the purple floor I need to cross in order to go further in to the Ruins has tiny, but noticeable cracks running through it. Every single millimeter of the floor was literally covered with them.

Suffice it to say, the entirety of the floor ahead of me did not look save to walk on. Not one bit.

Grabbing a loose rock near my feet, I throw it onto the floor ahead. The small, negligible weight of the rock was too much for the floor to bear, which now sported a small hole where it had landed. I had to hold back a sigh. If the floor couldn't even hold a rock, it certainly wouldn't be able to bear my weight either.

Leaning absently on my staff, I wonder how I am supposed to get past this point before the thought comes to me that while the entire floor looks brittle and unstable, it only looks that way. Emphasis on _looks_. Maybe there's a safe path across that isn't immediately apparent through mere mundane observation.

Getting on my knees, I place my glove covered palm on the ground, and I once more use my Structural Analysis to Grasp the entire expanse of the floor ahead of me. As I do this, I simultaneously Reinforce my brain to help handle the influx of information. This is by far the largest area I have Grasped since waking up, and it showed in the feedback of data. I would give myself one killer headache if I tried to take in all that information all at once without increasing my cognitive processes first.

Reinforcement, after all, could do much more then just making things harder and sturdier. The main advantage of this basic and brute force spell is its incredible versatility.

As I explained earlier, it can augment the existence and purpose of _anything_ I poured my magical energy into almost without exception, enhancing the objects main attributes. With the use of Reinforcement food becomes more tasty and nutritious, swords become more sturdy and have their sharpness increased, and applied to the human body it can enhance every single attribute equated to physical ability far beyond what should be possible for a human.

Of course, such a versatile spell has to have a drawback. Everything has a drawback. And for Reinforcement that drawback is especially dire.

It's a simple concept, really. A container can only hold so much liquid before said liquid spills over the edge, and in the case of a sealed container, only so much of a substance can be put inside before the pressure building inside becomes too much. The exact same principal holds true for the magical energy used in Reinforcement.

The tougher an object naturally is, the more it can take and the more it can be Reinforced, but if you go over the limit the object in question will break and explode. This holds true for pretty much everything I can think of, even for a human body, making using this spell on yourself a potentially lethal mistake if one is not careful at all times.

I can feel my eyes light up as I finish processing everything. There's indeed a safe path across, one that slithered up and down the entire length and width of the room, but I'm sure that narrow path my spell has revealed will be capable of bearing my weight no problem.

Quickly committing the path to memory, I stand back up and confidently make my way across, using my staff to test the ground I am about to step on, just to be safe.

* * *

In the next room I am confronted by three grey rocks, identical to the rock I had encountered a few chambers back. Looking slightly ahead of these rocks, I see exactly three grey, raised tiles, and a little further ahead of those is a wide, wooden bridge over a stream of water, filled with several rows of sharp, metal spikes.

At least this answers why the hint provided earlier said four grey rocks, though that didn't tell him why three of the four grey rocks are allowed to be pushed while one other isn't. The fact that my sight reveals that one of those rocks is in the possession of a SOUL might explain that little anomaly.

I approach the rock on the farthest left, resolving to leave the 'rock' on the right, the one that apparently contains a SOUL, for very last.

Pushing the first rock onto the raised tile behind it, I turn towards the next rock in the line, just wanting to get this done as quickly as possible and move onto the next room. Before I can do so, though, I am confronted by three small... beings that have silently interspaced themselves between me and the rock in question.

With a thought my Mystic Eyes of the SOUL switch on as I ready myself for battle, falling into a stance and baring my staff. The creatures didn't overtly react to my defensive actions, and just quietly continued to stare me down. Well, stare me down isn't really an accurate description. To stare someone down one needs to be in possession of eyes, which these tiny and odd beings didn't have. I had already realized that monsters came in many different shapes and sizes, considering the radical difference between the few that I have encountered so far, but these monsters are quite unlike anything I had imagined.

They looked like a gelatin mold. I am not kidding. These creatures honestly looked like the brightly colored dessert made out of sweetened and refrigerated gelatin - I blink, wondering where that sudden factoid about cooking had come from - that has a lime green color. Their forms pulsated up and down in a constant, smooth rhythm, and like most monsters I have encountered so far are pretty small and come only about up to my knees in height.

 _* You tripped into a line of Moldsmals._

I am somewhat perplexed by these strange, oozing monsters. They didn't look threatening, and neither did their presence alarm me all that much, but the same could be said for Flowey, and that flower monster had proven to be deadly in clear contrast to its downright innocent appearance. Looking at these Moldsmals, though, and seeing their slow and ponderous movements, I really had to wonder how they intended to take my SOUL, _if_ that was what they are actually after.

A bare second after I think this, the Moldsmals once again prove that age old adage of never judging a book by its cover, and they did so with gusto.

My attention is snagged by the sudden and fast gathering of some kind of energy/fluid in a sphere in front of all three Moldsmals. The energy/fluid quickly grew to the size of baseballs, all three of which pulsed in unison, and were then fired straight at me without a word or a sound.

I had already begun running to the side before this happened, and this, combined with my Mystic Eyes perfectly predicting in which direction the energy spheres are heading - towards the space I had just vacated - gave me the short lived believe that I can dodge this head on attack easily.

Said believe lasted a grand total of two seconds, and ended the moment all three spheres detonated at the exact same moment in time. As the energy spheres detonated, they separated into dozens upon dozens of smaller energy spheres, all of which sped towards my general direction at bullet speeds.

Reacting instantly to this surprising two stage attack, I twist on my heel and push of, launching myself in the opposite direction I had been running in. Thanks to the virtue of my Reinforcement spell enacted on my own body, said leap easily allowed me to clear over ten feet, allowing me to reach that one spot in time that my eyes had shown me to be safe from the approaching killing field.

The energy spheres pock marketed the area all around me, striking the floor, walls and ceiling, kicking up a screen of dust and dirt, but thanks to my quick thinking and just as quick reaction made sure that I got away without a single hit.

The dust cleared quickly, restoring my vision. The Moldsmals are still in the same spot they had been, and I frown as I silently observe them.

I continued to stand where I was, barely even moving, waiting for something to happen, though I am not certain for what exactly, and the trio of Moldsmals did the same, just staying still. I had already decided that I wasn't going to make the next move before I figured out a way to end this battle without anyone dying if at all possible.

One, two, three minutes the Moldsmals and I looked at each other - or I at least thought that the Moldsmals were looking at me. It's hard to tell with them having no eyes and all, waiting for the other to make a move or do something. Only for nothing to happen.

I frown, confused as I wonder why the Moldsmals are not continuing their attack. I couldn't even tell if the three Moldsmals are still hostile by this point. They certainly at least didn't seem to be intent on attacking me any time soon.

Well, if the Moldsmals aren't going to attack, then this represented the perfect chance to try and nip this battle in the bud before anyone could get hurt. But as I wasn't certain how I could do that exactly, I decided to just wing it and hope for the best.

"Uhm," I began hesitantly, not quite sure what to say. "I know that that the three of you need my SOUL, I know why you need it, and I can definitely understand, but..."

The three Moldsmals didn't react in any way I could perceive to my rapid rambling, but neither did they attack as I talked. I took that as a good sign.

"... I promised to hold onto my SOUL, and there are still things I need to do, goals I need to fulfill regardless."

Again, the trio of slime-like monsters didn't react in any noticeable way to my declaration. They just continued being stationary, pulsating up and down in their line up in front of me.

I cock my head at the Moldsmals, and made a hopeful overture to the monsters. "I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. If you don't attack me further, I won't do anything to harm you three in turn and we will just leave this entire unfortunate situation in the past, okay?"

For the third time in a row the Moldsmals didn't react to what I had to say, and I was already tensing my muscles at the chance that they might become hostile again, only for something surprising to happen.

The Moldsmals made noises at each other, sounding like the frothing and bubbling of water, and it took me a few seconds to realize that they were conversing with each other. Said conversation lasted barely half a minute, and suddenly the Moldsmals, to my utter disbelieve, made a slight inclination in my direction, as if bowing in apology, and left.

 _* You won!_

My mouth open and closed in astonishment as the Moldsmals disappeared through the corridor I had emerged from earlier, having apparently decided to call it quits after what should have been a weak shot at showing mercy. Considering the situation of the monsters, the attempt should have by all logic been doomed to failure.

That... had been absurdly easy, all things considered. If all monsters were like this, then it might actually be possible to get through the Underground without killing anyone.

In spite of this hope, I didn't delude myself that I could defuse all future encounters as easily, though. There are bound to be more determined monsters in the future who will not be mollified by mere words.

But I would take that eventuality as it comes, for now I need to progress to the next room and to do that I will need to slide the two remaining rocks onto their raised tiles and examine the 'rock' that possesses a SOUL.

I slide the middle rock onto its tile and cautiously approach the one with the apparent SOUL. And in spite of somewhat expecting it, I am still startled when the loud, strangely accented voice emerges from it from no identifiable source.

"Whoa there, pardner!"

* * *

After having dealt with the rather odd and unhelpful, though still rather friendly, rock that can talk, I pass through a corridor that curiously has a mouse hole in the wall on my left and an old, wooden table on my right. On it is a block of cheese, and for some god awful reason the Voice comments on it as I pass by it.

 _* This cheese has been here quite a long time. It's stuck to the table..._

I briefly wonder how the Voice can know that without me even touching the cheese in question, but I quickly decide the once again ignore the Voice's asinine commentary and continue on my path.

In the next room I immediately come to a dead halt. The chamber I am in now starts out wide, but it quickly narrows to a small passageway in the middle. That passageway is filled with red leaves that seem to be ever present in the Ruins, covering that narrow space and only that small space in a bed of crimson.

That's not what halts me in my tracks, though. It's what _on_ that bed of leaves that makes me pause.

It has to be a monster, and if I had to describe it as something, I would immediately default to calling it a ghost even though it did not in any way appear similar to the Wraiths of human SOULs that remain attached to this world through past grudges, regrets and other sorts of unfinished business that they had during life.

If anything, it reminded me of a bedsheet ghost. It literally appears that a sheet of thin white fabric with closed eyeholes is laying down on the bed of leafs. The edges of the sheet at the bottom of the monster seem to ripple in a non-present wind, while there seems to be nothing inside of it.

A small mouth moves underneath the closed eyes, and a strange noice that I can't immediately place comes from it.

"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..."

I stand there, perplexed, not really sure what to do in the face of this odd and rather surreal occurrence. Why is this 'ghost' making that noise and why is it rather badly trying to fake that it's asleep?

"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..."

Staring at the ghost for almost a full minute, I am still wondering what to do in this situation with no answer forthcoming.

"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ - are they gone yet? - ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..."

 _* This ghost keeps saying 'z' out loud repeatedly, pretending to sleep. Move it with force?_

I frown. I don't feel comfortable trying to move someone without their consent, not even mentioning the fact that I am not sure if I can even touch it. If this monster really is some kind of ghost reminiscent of Wraiths, touching it with my bare hands will be impossible at best and harmful at worst.

What else can I do? Can I reason with it? Convince it to move out of its own will? It's not trying to attack me, so trying to talk to it should pose no danger.

"Hello, um, sir? I don't know if you are aware of this, but you are blocking the way. Can you please move aside so that I can pass?"

At first, there was no reaction from the ghost, and I had already opened my mouth to try again, but then I notice that the monster's eyes slowly open at my question.

I am taken aback at what I see. The ghost's sclera are entirely black, while its iris and pupil are a uniform white. But that's not what surprises me, though. It's that the ghost's eyes are glistening with repressed tears, with the monster clearly on the verge of crying.

The ghost floats up, leaving its bed of leaves, and it looks at me in a manner that's so reminiscent of a beaten puppy that it feels as if an Oni had just pulled at my heartstrings with all of its strength.

"Oh, I am sorry for being an inconvenience," the monster's voice was like its eyes, soft, sad and completely downtrodden. "I'll get out of your way now..."

"No, wait!" I shout as the ghost starts to fade away from sight. The monster seemed surprised at my shout, and stops leaving, having become completely visible again.

"Is there something else?"

"No, yes!" having suddenly been put on the spot through my own actions, I stumble a little over my words and my voice is slightly raised as I try to vocalize both my thoughts and intentions. I hadn't really thought it through when I had stopped the ghost from leaving, but I now that I have done so, I can't just let it go.

Besides, Emiya Shirou is not the kind of person who can leave someone who looks so downtrodden alone.

"I stopped you because I wanted to talk to you for a moment," I said, trying to sound as kind as possible. "You don't mind, right?"

"Oh, I don't know," the ghost mumbled, still looking sad and somewhat apprehensive. "I don't think I can do that. I would probably just screw it up."

"What are you talking about?" I said back, suppressing my first reaction. Screwing up talking? This monster must have some serious confidence and self-esteem issues to come to that idea about itself. "Trust me, you're doing just fine so far. You come across as very kind. Come on, I just want to talk for a short while."

The ghost hesitated taking me op on my offer for a long moment, but the monster did flash me a little smile when I called it kind.

"If you insist," the ghost mumbled finally, and I let out a short, relieved sigh when it agreed.

"Come, sit," I said and sit down Japanese style with my legs folded under me on the flowerbed, laying my staff down on the ground beside me.

The ghost made no move to follow my example, and looked faintly dejected and embarrassed. "Oh, uhm, sorry. But I can't really sit. I don't have anything I can sit on. Oh, I am already messing up the conversation..."

I fought to keep from palming my face at my stupidity. The ghost had nothing what on a human would be considered a lower half, and hence had nothing to sit on.

The monster's words were lowly murmured, and I could see even more tears gathering in the corners of its eyes. I quickly opened my mouth to say it's alright, something telling me that I don't want to have this monster cry no matter what. Call me crazy, but I had the distinct impression that things would get rather dangerous really quickly if the ghost were to break down crying.

"That's alright, I don't mind, " I quickly said. "You can just, uhm, keep floating, or lay back down again, if you want to."

"I think I'll keep floating, if you don't mind."

I nodded and looked up at the ghost in front of me. The surreality of the fact that I was about to have a conversation with a ghost, even if it was a monster, hadn't yet hit me, but I am not sure that it even will considering my suspension of disbelief had been stretched to such an extent in such a short time by this absolutely bonkers day.

"What's your name?" I started off with a common, clean subject.

"Napstablook."

"Napstablook, that's a nice name," I said, earning me another smile. "I'm Shirou, Emiya Shirou."

"Emiyashiro?" Napstablook repeated, combing and slurring the pronunciation of both my last and first name together. "That's, uhm, a rather peculiar name..."

"You can just call me Shirou," I corrected the ghost. "Emiya is my last name. Where I come from we introduce our self with our last name first."

"Oh," Napstablook made a noise of understanding.

"Anyway," I say, trying to get to the point of the conversation. "I wanted to talk to you because you look so sad. I wanted to know what's wrong and if I can help in anyway."

Napstablook looked surprised, having not expected that. "That's very kind of you, Shirou, but I'm fine."

I shot the ghost a skeptical look, an eye brow raised in disbelieve. "Then why did it look like you are about to cry earlier? And why were you laying down all alone here?"

"I sometimes come to the Ruins because there's nobody around. The quiet allows me to think, and laying down on the ground and feeling like garbage is a family tradition."

While I couldn't say that Napstablook looked happy yet, the ghost was clearly opening up to me, rather easily at that. The explanation I got of 'laying down on the ground and feeling like garbage' admittedly worried me a little, but who was I to comment on how others spend their free time.

On the plus side, the fact that Napstablook was talking so openly and that it didn't look like it was about to cry any time soon was a clear improvement.

"That still doesn't explain why you looked so sad," I continue to hammer at that point, trying to get an answer. If I know what's wrong, I might be able to help.

Napstablook averted its eyes from me for a short moment. The silence was palpable and uncomfortable, but I patiently and stubbornly remained sitting were I was, my eyes never straying from the ghost in front of me. I idly muse to myself that if it was possible for a ghost to be tense, Napstablook managed it.

"It's not really something you can help with," the ghost finally answered, returning its gaze to me.

"Try me," was my stubborn reply. "Besides, even if I cannot help, maybe talking about it will make you feel better."

"I..." Napstablook began hesitantly before deciding to just give in to my prodding. "If you're sure. It's a rather long and boring story."

* * *

"Hee, hee," Napstablook gave a short, but happy giggle. "I'm usually alone, but I met somebody nice today. It was nice talking to you, Shirou."

I nodded back to the ghost, pleased. While Napstablook was right that I couldn't help it with its troubles, as they were deeply personal and not something I should involve myself with unless I was asked to do so by all the parties involved, it was clear that the ghost found it relieving to vent its emotions and negative thoughts to me. It was clear that the monster didn't have many friends, if any, and while it had family members, they weren't in the picture because of said personal reasons.

Besides, in spite of being an introvert and a rather dour person, Napstablook was both a good talker and listener when you get the monster to open up to you.

Napstablook started talking again, breaking me from my thoughts. "This was enjoyable, Shirou, but I really should be going back to Waterfall. I need to leave now if I want to be on time for my next shift," the ghost said, smiling a small smile at me. "If you ever find yourself in Waterfall, you can come and visit any time you like, if you want to..."

"I would like that," I said in return, causing Napstablook's smile to widen a little.

"Bye!" the ghost said and disappeared into thin air, sounding far more chipper then I had expected it was capable of being.

Shaking my head, I find myself a little amused by the ghost's one-eighty from downtrodden to happy after just a short, polite conversation. It was rather endearing.

I get up, picking up my staff from beside me as I pass over the bed of leafs and through the narrow corridor. On the other side are two passageways, one directly ahead of me and the other on my left. After a brief moment of contemplation, that basically amounted to random choice and hoping for the best, I went left...

... And stopped dead at what I was confronted with on the other side.

The room was tall and wide, with the ceiling more then a dozen meters over my head and the room itself being about the size of a football field commonly found near schools. Considering the size of the room, it would have been odd if I was the only occupant, though I sincerely wish that were the case.

Directly ahead of me, seven figures stood on the ground or were afloat in the air respectively. Three Froggits and four Whimsuns, all of which had turned towards me the very second I entered the room, tensing up when they registered just what had stepped into their midst. Curiously, none of them looked surprised at seeing me.

 _* You have stumbled upon a gang of Froggits and Whimsuns._

My Circuits warm up, and my Mystic Eyes turn on. My staff points in their direction, ready to protect me if required, even as my mind immediately starts racing in order to find a way to get past these monsters, ideally without having anyone get hurt.

It's because of my Eyes that I notice something that every other being in this room hadn't.

I had noted earlier that these chambers in the Ruins were in dire need of maintenance. Mostly it applied to brittle floors that couldn't even bear a ten year old's weight, but in this room it wasn't the floor that needed to be fixed, but the walls en ceiling. Long, thin cracks ran along the walls on all sides and the ceiling above in spindly patterns. So small they were that it was difficult to notice them if one only gave the walls and ceiling a cursory glance, or one had Eyes like mine.

Whatever the case, I could tell that even the smallest disturbance, nudge, or unfortunate action could very well bring the roof down on our collective heads.

If fighting were to break out in this room... It wouldn't end well for anyone, I am certain of that.

Taking a single step forward, I open my mouth, my mind going a million miles a minute as I tried to think up the best way I could explain the situation and hopefully avoid getting crushed underneath several tons of brick, mortar, rock and dirt.

Unfortunately, I never got the chance to.

Taking my step forward as the signal to attack, all seven monsters spring into action in unison. The trio of Froggits croaked loudly, the action itself somehow summoning flies around the Froggits. These flies are some kind of magical construct, consisting entirely of blue magical energy, but they move and behave just like real life flies.

The four Whimsuns, on the other hand, were entirely silent as they employed their magic. In spite of this fact, the result was largely the same, only a large cloud of moths are brought into existence around the insectile monsters instead of flies.

Acting as one, the cloud of magical energy shaped into flies and moths rush toward me in a wide scale attack. The blue glowing constructs moved in on me, acting and buzzing as a swarm of the creature's they were shaped after, covering such a wide area that going around it was impossible. There's only one option; I had to go through it.

I launch myself forward, crouching low to the ground as I used my Eyes to their fullest potential to guide my way through the minefield of magical energy that is bearing down on me. My staff comes up in front of me, once again spinning like a baton in order to intercept the insectile projectiles that are coming towards me straight on, the appearance of green circuitry along its surface the telltale sign that a spell of Reinforcement is enacted upon it.

Using my staff as a shield, I rush through the cloud, making tiny adjustments to my footing and the position of my body to allow the magically constructed insects that aren't swatted down to pass less then an inch from my clothes and skin, only to realize I had made a miscalculation.

I was inside the cloud now, and to my consternation I had come to a dead halt. I quickly realized that trying to take the direct path had been a mistake; apparently, the insects had honing properties as the ones that has passed by me just now had looped back around, and were now angrily buzzing around me in a circle with the rest of their fellows. I was effectively trapped, with the ring of insect shaped magical energy now too dense to try to force my way through it as I had intended.

My Eyes made that abundantly clear.

I was stuck.

Suddenly, the swarm of insects started to slowly shrink down on me, and I realized what was about to happen.

Pushing as much Prana as possible into the empty spaces of my cloak, I Reinforce the material as far as it can go. I quickly throw the hood over my head and crouch down low to the ground, bracing my feet against the ground as I centered and readied myself.

I had no choice but to defend myself, and trust on the unnatural toughness of the cloak I wore to protect me.

The insects came whipping towards me, suddenly rushing at me from every direction. I spun in a circle, my cloak whipping around me, as my staff blurred in movement, swatting down as many as I could, while those I couldn't met the augmented fabric of my cloak with more force then I had expected them to.

At least two dozen made it past my guard, striking me all over my covered body. In spite of this, none of the insectile masses of shaped magical energy could get through my cloak, and thankfully none of them made any direct contact with my skin. I still felt as if I was being thrown around like a ragdoll, but I managed to keep on my feet, and the moment I noticed the swarm of insects around me drastically decrease, I jumped backward, trusting my cloak to protect my back in the most literal sense.

Another half a dozen insects struck my back during the hasty leap, but it also got me out of the swarm, and that's what counted.

I could feel several dull aches all over my body. Thankfully, the pain wasn't so bad that I couldn't ignore it. More importantly, I was still in one piece and despite said light pain I wasn't truly injured; my skin hadn't been pierced or broken anywhere, and the worst I might have were some bruises, just like with Flowey.

And against all odds, even after all that my cloak was still undamaged.

I really need to take a look at how that was possible later, but I was still facing down a mob of hostile monsters that I needed to concern myself with first.

The moment I landed after my sudden leap, I immediately ran to the right, towards the exit of the chamber that led deeper into the Ruins. If subduing the monsters wasn't possible, then running away and avoiding further battle was the best course of action.

The problem was that if they made another such swarm, the only hope of getting away was to outrun said swarm, and I am not certain that even with Reinforcement I could do that. I just had to run as fast possible, keep my senses primed, and hope for the best.

It was a simple plan, though potentially hazardous for my health.

My instincts told me to move, so I did. Projectiles, magical energy shaped into small balls, blasted past me...

And made the premonition I had earlier a reality.

The projectiles struck the wall on either side of the exit of the chamber that led deeper into the Ruins, and thanks to my Eyes I saw perfectly how the balls directly struck one of the very small cracks present there, starting a chain reaction.

Horror struck me as I realized what was about to happen, and I immediately reversed direction without any conscious thought.

The monsters looked surprised as I turned on a dime and rushed towards them. For a moment it appeared like they were about to attack me again, but then they noticed what I already had; cracks were rapidly spreading through the walls and up to the ceiling, and to everyone's alarm, the room shook and small chips of rock started falling from the ceiling, shattering on the ground with a sound eerily reminiscent to a death knell.

Larger chunks started falling from the ceiling, and the Froggits and Whimsuns looked up with wide eyes, frozen in fear as right above where they were standing a massive piece of the ceiling slowly started to come loose.

"Move you idiots!"

My shout startled the monsters and shook them from their frozen state, but by that point it was already to late. The massive piece of ceiling, something that could easily crush the small monsters underneath it, detached from the roof and plummeted downwards.

Pumping as much Prana as I dared into my muscles, I accelerated as fast as I could and used my larger bulk to push (translation: bash) all the monsters from the spot they had been standing on. I couldn't reach all of the monsters in time this way, so I kicked the last small Froggit aside to get it out of the danger zone.

Which left only me in said danger zone.

Kicking off against the ground, I launched myself forward as the roof came down with a deafening sound and everything suddenly went dark.

* * *

I groaned as I opened my eyes, my vision blurry.

 _Did someone get the license plate of the truck that ran me over?_ Was the first thought that went through my waking mind.

Sitting up from where I had been laying on the ground, I looked around, taking in the devastation around me.

Dust was thick in the air, with piles of rubble strewn around, with a very _large_ pile just behind me. It seems I only escaped being buried by a scant few meters, and I still was knocked out, probably by some flying rock that struck me on the head. Or at least, that's what I think through my throbbing headache.

Thankfully, I had the Reinforced hood of my cloak up to protect my head. It could have been much worse.

My vision cleared completely, and I got up. I could now see all the monsters I had been fighting, who were now also slowly starting to get up from their positions on the floor. I wasn't knocked out for long then, maybe half a minute at most, which was good.

The thoughts on my wellbeing were shunted aside when I spied one of the small Whimsuns writhing on the floor. I made a beeline towards it, and as I did so I couldn't help but notice that one of the thin, insectile wings on its back was bent at an unnatural angle and the expanding pool of blood beneath it.

The Whimsun was trying to get up when I reached it, letting out pitiful moans.

"You shouldn't move. With those wounds of yours it's impossible to move without injuring yourself further."

I was somewhat embarrassed that my admonishing tone did little to hide the apparent concern in my voice for someone who I had just been fighting with, though that would not stop me from voicing said concern.

The Whimsun looked up at me, wide eyed as it realized who had come so close to it. I bit my lip as I took in the full extend of its injuries. I know some first aid, but I could not do anything about the broken wing or the deep and rather painful looking lacerations on the Whimsun's body that continued to weep blood at a steady pace.

That was not even mentioning the fact that I had no clue how to treat a monster. For all I know, what might be beneficial to a human could act like poison to a monster.

I looked around me, noticing the alarmed gazes of the Froggits and the other Whimsuns on me and the bleeding Whimsun beside me. They all stood stock still as they looked at us, their expression frozen somewhere in between horror and fright, clearly uncertain what they should do in this situation.

Seeing them simply standing there doing nothing, frozen in horror, ignited my temper.

"What are you guys doing!? Are you just going to stand there and watch your friend bleed to death!?"

I must be angrier then I had realized. Was it just my imagination or did the room just shake lightly at the volume of my shout? I hope not. The idea of triggering another cave in did not fill me with want.

A ripple went through the gathered monsters, and after a few moments of indecision, the other three Whimsuns fluttered over to their injured comrade. They eyed me as they went past me with a look I couldn't quite interpret. The monsters immediately started tending to the injured Whimsun, instructing it to lay still on the floor.

"Ribbit, ribbit," the familiar croaking of a Froggit caught my attention, and I turned to look at one of the frog-like monsters that had approached me.

Said monster looked up at me, and I notice a small bruise on the side of its white chest. So this was the Froggit that I had to kick in order to get it to safety. I sure hope that I hadn't hurt the monster too bad. While I didn't regret it and it was necessary to spare the Froggit much worse injuries, the idea of wounding it left a bad taste in my mouth.

"Human," the word was spoken with clear hesitation, as the Froggit looked uncertain. "Why did you help us?"

I raised an eyebrow at the question, and gave the answer that automatically came to mind.

"There's nothing wrong with helping someone," I said with conviction. "No matter what the circumstances may be."

"Even if those circumstances, ribbit, ribbit, include the one you are helping trying to kill you." I blink, surprised at the blunt rebuttal.

Shrugging, I gave the response that came naturally to me.

"In certain situations, yes," was my succinct answer. "Besides," I continue, my lips twitching a little as I try and fail to surpress some dark humor, "You and your friends aren't trying to kill me right now, are you?"

The Froggit looked at me, clearly not knowing what to say. The other monsters were experiencing a similar sort of disbelieve, as was clear from the confusion in their eyes and how their mouths opened and closed without producing any sound.

Truth be told, I was also rather surprised by my actions. While I hold my ideal of a Hero and saving everyone inside my heart of hearts, the fact that I wasn't willing to give up my SOUL meant that I clearly wasn't willing to pay with my life to achieve that ideal, though I couldn't fathom why I wasn't willing to do so.

My own life isn't worth that much.

And yet, the very second other people are in danger, even when those very same people were attacking me in order to claim my SOUL I selfishly decided to keep for myself, I risked life and limb without thinking about it in order to save them.

In the heat of the moment, I did live up to my ideal of a Hero by risking my life, but yet I am not willing to die in order to achieve it.

I truly must be contradiction personified. The paradox made my head spin, and yet some part of me couldn't care less, as if this is the way Emiya Shirou should be.

"You _aren't_ going to attack me again, are you?" I repeat my question, just to be sure, as they hadn't answered. As one can imagine, I'd like to know the answer to that.

The Froggit turned its head to look at the other two Froggits behind him, then looks towards the Whimsuns treating their injured friend, seemingly holding a quiet conversation with just their locked eyes. Finally, the monster turns its gaze back towards me.

"Ribbit, ribbit. I think I speak for everyone here," Froggit began, "That none of us would be able to stomach attacking you again after you just saved our lives."

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding and relax a little. Not entirely, of course, as I am stil on guard for any kind of sudden sneak attack and/or double-cross, but I was fairly certain that wasn't going to happen.

After that, the conversation lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, as no one knew what to say, and just continuing on through the Ruins while someone was being treated for some serious injuries behind me didn't feel right to me. If I stay, I might be able to help again.

It didn't take long before the Whimsuns finished treating their wounded comrade. One of them fluttered towards us, its expression strained, but relieved.

"We managed to stop the bleeding and put him under for a few hours," the Whimsun began, "But we can't do anything about the inside trauma or the broken wing. We aren't good enough at the Healing Arts to fix that, so we're going to have to get help. Preferably as fast as possible."

"Ribbit, ribbit. It seems were going to have to leave now, human," Froggit said. Without prompting the other two Froggits made their way over to the wounded Whimsun and carefully placed the now out cold monster on the back of one of them, taking care not to open its wounds again.

"You sure you don't need any help?" I asked, just to be sure.

Froggit nodded. "Ribbit, ribbit. No offence, human, but you tagging along with us will probably invite unwanted attention of other monsters that we might then get tangled up in. As you can imagine, I would rather avoid that, especially while we're carrying an injured person with us."

Understanding what it meant, I could only nod back in agreement. "True. Stay safe, then, and get your friend looked after as fast as possible."

Froggit snorted, loudly. "Ribbit, ribbit. Human, I should be the one telling you that. You're the one in the most danger here." The monster sighed, glancing away from me. Then it looked back at me and said something surprising. "I'm sorry we're not able to help you, human, but please, take better care of yourself in the future. You realize that many monsters down here are trying to kill you, right? If you selflessly go out of your way to help anyone you meet, someone _will_ take advantage of that eventually."

 _And you'll end up being killed._

Those last seven words weren't said, of course, but what Froggit was implying was clear.

"Don't worry, I will take care of myself," I assured the monster. "But if someone is in need of help, and I'm able to do something, I will help regardless of the circumstances."

Froggit looked up at me, a worried and confused glint in its bulbous eyes.

"Ribbit, ribbit, If you say so, human," Froggit said, glancing back to its friends that were already vacating the chamber. "I must be going now."

Froggit turned and hopped after the other monsters, but just as it reached the passageway, it turned back to me.

"Ribbit, ribbit. I wish you the best of luck, human, and I hope someone is looking out for you. With that attitude of yours, you're going to need it."

And with those ominous words Froggit left, leaving me alone in the devastated chamber.

* * *

Having left the utterly wrecked chamber behind, I arrive in yet another medium sized room that was the Ruins' customary purple. I note the ivy crawling up the walls and the areas of the floor that have cracks running through it. Clearly, this room wasn't all that safe either.

I quickly make my way across the room, only to find my way obstructed by a mass of spikes several lines thick.

Turning back around, I look around the chamber, and to my surprise I see no obvious mechanism or puzzle one needs to solve in order to get to the next room.

I stood there for a short moment, pondering what I should do in this situation. Thankfully, it didn't take me long to figure it out; after all, there was still space underneath the floor that I haven't yet seen, evident from the cracks running through certain areas of said floor. The way to open up the path has to be hidden down there.

Choosing at random, I walk towards one of the danger zones. I also quickly pump Prana into my body, focusing on my bones and muscles as I Reinforce myself. Surprisingly, the cracked floor held my weight. So I raised my foot, paused for a brief moment to ready myself...

...and stomped on the broken floor.

With an audible crack, the floor shattered underneath me, sending me down into the small, lit room that the floor hid beneath it.

My cloak wildly whipping around me as I descend, I bend my knees to absorb the impact of landing, my Reinforced body easily taking the rough, sudden stop. The thick carpet of red leaves that littered the floor helped as well, of course.

Straightening myself, I raise my head and look around.

A flickering torch hung in the corner, lighting up the small and cramped room. I searched for a brief moment, but I am disappointed to see nothing like a mechanism or puzzle I needed to find and solve in order to make my way further into the Ruins.

I pause as I hear a noise and look downward. There, right in front of me, is a rustling patch of green grass sticking up out of the floor. Raising an eyebrow and curious to find out what was hidden in the small patch of grass, I reach out with my staff, intending to root out whatever was hidden within.

It was then that I realized I had made a mistake.

Two mistakes, actually.

The first mistake was the assumption that something was hidden in the grass. In actuality, the grass was a part of a monster, something that became immediately clear when I touched the grass and a wide and large carrot-like monster emerges from the ground in response. Its entire body, except for the patch of grass on top of it, is a stark orange and the face that it bears covers its entire wide front. The monster looks up me with a wide smile and happy eyes.

 _* Vegetoid came out of the earth!_

"Uh, hell-" I began saying.

"Eat your greens!" The Vegetoid shouted in a loud, overjoyed voice, and promptly attacked me without warning.

Without a sound or even a gesture from the Vegetoid several kinds of vegetables and fruits materialized in the air. I counted several dozen of them, and they floated silently around the Vegetoid for a few seconds. I absently acknowledged the carrots, tomatoes, corn, and bananas, their forms forming a large wall in front of me.

And then said wall rushed towards me.

Having instinctively readied myself for battle when the Vegetoid emerged, dropping into a fighting stance and activating my Eyes with a thought, I reacted with time to spare to the wide scale attack. My staff spun in my hands, a spell of Reinforcement making it as hard as solid rock, and deflected the assorted mass of veggies and fruits.

It was then that I realized my second mistake, and that was fighting a monster, this monster in particular, in such a small room.

All other offensive Mysteries that I had encountered in my battles in the Ruins so far had all been rather similar to a degree; projectile attacks that were fired straight on. Only the swarm of flies and moths in the next room over had been different, in that they had the added capability of honing in on their target.

This attack, though, had a different extra capability.

Whatever kind of magic was enacted to make these 'projectiles', it also evidently made them rather bouncy. That became abundantly clear by the fact that those vegetables I deflected and those that missed me bounced off the walls, ceiling and floor, seemingly losing none of their momentum, making the small, cramped room a killing zone as they ping ponged from every surface with all the force of an excellently served tennis ball.

A killing zone filled with all the necessary ingredients needed to make a healthy and nutritious meal.

Hmm. That's odd. I'm suddenly having this irresistible urge to cook.

Ignoring the rather odd urge, I spin around, my staff whacking aside the veggies and fruits screaming in the air all around me. I jump back, my eyes warning me a split second in advance that I wouldn't be able to deflect every single vegetable and fruit gunning for me if I had remained standing where I was.

As I do this, I absently catch a tomato in my glove covered hand as my staff hits away yet another carrot.

To my surprise, all the vegetables and fruits filling the air suddenly vanish. Only the tomato in my hand remains for some reason.

Vegetoid looked hopefully at me, its SOUL seeming to pulse with excitement.

I raised an eyebrow at it, then look at the tomato in my hand and then back towards the Vegetoid. Did... did the carrot-like monster want me to eat it? It did scream 'eat your greens' earlier. Was that what this was all about? I wouldn't even have entertained the notion before, but I had seen too much weird stuff already today to discount the idea.

Shrugging, I decide that it couldn't hurt. I take a bite out of the tomato (discreetly using Structural Analysis on it before I do so to make sure it's safe to eat).

Vegetoid looked proud, and happily told me, "Farmed locally, very locally."

And then promptly disappeared under the earth again as if nothing had happened.

I rub the side of my face, still absently taking bites out of the tomato, the conjured fruit being rather tasty. Despite the monsters I have encountered so far having surprisingly similar logic to humans, at least from what I have seen, my 'fight' with the Vegetoid made it clear that there are exceptions to this rule.

Finishing my impromptu healthy snack, I look around as I try and find a way back up to the room above, only to pause as I feel my foot nudge something.

Looking down, I spot a scrap of cloth bearing a faded red color. I pick it up and examine it. It appeared to be some kind of ribbon that had clearly seen better days, the cloth it is made out of being frayed and torn at the edges while age had clearly made it lose most of its color.

I look at it for a long moment, unexpectedly interested in this faded ribbon.

 _* If you're cuter, monsters won't hit you as hard._

I start as the Voice once more intrudes on my thoughts. The moment I comprehend its words, I raise my eyebrow in a bit more then a fair deal of skepticism. Surely monsters wouldn't go easy on you just because you happened to be _cute_. They weren't _that_ easy to influence, were they?

Then I remembered the Froggit who no longer wished to take my SOUL just because I had been concerned for it after it had attacked me. To say nothing about the Moldsmals that stopped attacking me after I talked to them, or the gang of Whimsuns and Froggits who I saved no longer wishing to harm me.

Maybe... maybe monsters really _are_ that easy to influence.

I tie the faded ribbon around my left arm. It was worth a shot, and it couldn't hurt to try, at least.

Now, how do I get out of this hole in the ground?

* * *

I let out a deep breath as I leave behind me yet another chamber, feeling weary of the traveling, puzzle solving, being on guard for monsters and constantly watching my step in order to assure that I won't happen to fall through the floor. I haven't been attacked by a monster since I encountered that Vegetoid (if you can call that being attacked), but the last room I had been in had a rather intricate Perimeter Barrier placed over it. Of course, that Perimeter Barrier had been placed to facilitate a puzzle.

The puzzle itself was rather easy, I just needed to remember the locations of the switches I needed to flip in order to open op the path, even if I needed to do it multiple times in a row in what appeared to be the same room. No, the surprising thing was the Perimeter Barrier. It took me a little while to figure out what it did.

I had noticed the presence of the Perimeter Barrier the moment I had stepped foot in it. Not seeing any obvious magic taking in effect, I had assumed it was either a detection or warning system of sorts, so I hadn't thought much of it beyond the fact that I better hurry up before the monster who placed the Barrier would come looking.

When I was doing the puzzle I was certain that I was moving from room to room. That turned out not to be the case. The Perimeter Barrier in question had been designed to confuse the senses and deceive the mind into tricking anyone stepping foot in it that the room, which actually turned out to be a straight hallway, was a different shape, conjuring up fake clues, hints and switches to make up an equally faux puzzle.

Thankfully, the idea occurred to me while I was doing said 'puzzle' to use my Eyes on the off chance that they might reveal something to me about the Perimeter Barrier. I had no idea it would work and if my Eyes could be used in such a manner, but the lucky guess allowed me to see through the illusions cloaking the hallway.

Heh. These Eyes are dead useful.

It's impossible to know now if it's possible to pass through that hallway by 'solving' the faux 'puzzle' that the Perimeter Barrier had conjured since I cheated, but I didn't really care. The only thing that mattered is that I managed to continue on ahead. How I did it is not important.

Shaking the thoughts from my head, I look around. I am at another intersection with one path that leads straight ahead and another that goes left, and again I have no other choice but to guess which path I should take. I decide to go left based purely on a mere whim, taking the path that is covered by red leaves.

The red leaves crunching beneath my feet, I take the path on my left, coming up to a massive open doorway, the opening far larger than I was used to seeing down here in the cramped catacombs. Not pausing my stride, I pass through it and come out another chamber, one that is much wider and taller then all the other rooms I had seen so far.

Much more eye grabbing is the massive, bare tree which is free of any and all leaves I am confronted with on the other side and that dominates the center of the chamber I've just stepped foot in.

The tree's bark was a very dark coloration, to the point that it's almost black like coal. As previously stated, the tree doesn't bear any leaves, having long since fallen off from its branches, creating a red blanket around said tree that was so thick one could hide easily hide their entire body in its red mass.

 _* Every time this old tree grows any leaves, they fall right off._

I eyed the tree in interest. This is where all the red leaves in the Ruins came from? From this solitary tree? I really had to wander how that was possible.

I don't get all that long to observe the tree before my attention is snagged by the sounds of footsteps coming around the tree. Having tensed for battle at the sound, I quickly find myself relaxing again the moment I hear and recognize the voice of the person from whom the sounds of footsteps is coming from.

"Oh dear, that took longer then I thought it would."

It's Toriel, stepping around the tree with hurried steps. She's holding a black phone against her head, presumably to call me. She notices my presence the exact moment I did hers. Snapping her phone closed with a loud clicking noise, she immediately comes towards me, a surprised and somewhat alarmed expression on her face.

"How did you get here, my child?" Though she tried to hide it, there was no masking the tiny veiled concern she held for my sake in her voice.

Feeling my heart warm up a little, I answer truthfully, "I'm sorry for going against your instructions, but as I was waiting the dog that stole your phone must have accidentally hit the speed dial multiple times because I was constantly getting calls from your phone every few minutes, so I think I know the gist of why it took so long."

Toriel's eyes widen and she blushes a little as she realizes I am aware of what happened in the time we were apart.

"Again, I'm sorry, but I just couldn't continue waiting there while you were running around, trying to get your phone back."

"So," Toriel began, sounding a bit hesitant, "You left the protection of the Perimeter Barrier to... help me?"

"Yes."

Toriel suddenly grew stern, and I tensed a little as she looks down at me with a disapproving expression. "While I appreciate the thought, my child, but are you aware that by leaving the Perimeter Barrier for such a minor reason you put yourself in danger? Danger that could have easily been avoided if you staid put?"

I glance away from the disapproval in her eyes, feeling ashamed not for doing what I did, but that I upset her with my actions. "I knew that it was dangerous to try and come and aid you, but I couldn't help myself."

Toriel continues to look stern for a moment longer, allowing the weight on my shoulders to grow heavier, but quickly softens up and smiles down at me.

"Well, the important thing is that you are here, safe and sound," she began to say, before looking concerned again, "You _aren't_ hurt, right?"

"No," I said, surprised as I realize that the minor aches from the bruises that I sustained on the way here have already disappeared, "I'm perfectly fine."

Toriel sighed in relieve. "Good. Still, I suppose shouldn't have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible to try and surprise you like this."

"Surprise me?" I question.

"Err..." Toriel looked flustered for a moment, but almost immediately recovers. "Well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer. Come, small one!"

I follow behind the goat-like monster, around the tree, and I'm surprised to see a small, cozy looking house on the other side. Like everything else in the Ruins, the brick that it is made out of is a deep purple, and the house is placed right up against the far wall of this chamber. Unlike everything else in the Ruins, the house appeared to be very well kept, looking pristine with no cracks in it and no ivy growing up its walls. From its mere outside appearance I was sure that it's a nice place to live.

 _* Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the Ruins gives you determination._

For a second time, the Circuits making up my Crest snap open without even a mental command from me. Just like they did at the very start of the Ruins, the inherited Circuits channel a tiny, but concentrated amount of Inner Energy for a brief moment before almost immediately snapping closed again.

Right in front of me that spinning star has been brought into existence once more. Though surprised that it happened again, in an effort to not worry Toriel I show no outward reaction to the seemingly automatic activation of my Crest and the odd phenomena that it brought into existence.

Instead, I simply walk right through the spinning star and follow Toriel into the house, the mysteries surrounding my Crest once more plaguing my mind.

Once inside I'm greeted by Toriel who has already turned to face me. My nose twitches the moment I take note of the sweet smell in the air, and I know that my earlier guess at what Toriel was planning had been correct. Something that smelled delicious must be in the oven.

"Do you smell that?" Toriel said, having obviously taken note of my expression. "Surprise! It's a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here. So I will hold of on snail pie for tonight."

My eyes widen at what she said. Live here? With her? Me? What is she-

"Here, I have another surprise for you." Toriel mustn't have noticed my surprise, or perhaps she is ignoring it, but she immediately heads toward the hallway on my right.

Naturally, I follow her, my mind still whirling at what she had just said and what that implied.

"Here it is," Toriel once again takes my hand in her own leads towards the first door on the left. "A room of your own. I hope you like it!"

I look up at the door, and try and grasp the situation I have been presented with. Toriel clearly hadn't been intent on simply guiding me through the dangers of the Ruins, but she actually wanted to take care of me. She wasn't just trying to protect me, but she actually wanted to, in effect, adopt me? Perhaps even... treat me as her own child?

She rubs my head, and I took a moment to realize that she was doing it, distracted as I was by the sudden swell of warm feelings I cannot describe in my chest.

"Is something burning...?" is what I hear Toriel say suddenly. She must have left her pie unattended for too long, I absently think to myself. "Um, make yourself at home!"

Toriel promptly rushes off back towards the entranceway and presumably the kitchen to save her pie. She left me standing there, thankfully giving me a moment alone to deal with the conflicting feelings that are currently coursing through me and messing up my mind.

Almost as if in a daze, my hand reaches out and opens the door in front of me. The door opened with a barely perceivable groan, and I step inside.

On the other side, I am confronted with a children's bedroom. It's a medium sized room, more then large enough to house a single child or even two children. The plaster on the ceiling and walls is a cheerful red, a color I actually rather like, while a red and white decorated rug covers the center of the polished wooden flooring in this room. There's a single bed tucked in the upper right corner, and in keeping with the rest of the room's color pallet the thick blankets covering it are naturally a deep red.

In front of the bed is a children's toys box. With the lid removed, I can see that said box is filled to the brim with all kinds of toys a kid could want. To the side of the bed there are several very soft-looking plushies in a disparity of colors and sizes, perfect to snuggle with. To the left of the bed there's a dresser, a long and low to the ground wooden cabinet with a dusty picture frame on top of it and a small shoe box on the ground beside it.

In the top two corners of the room there are lamps, with the one in the top left corner switched on and providing the light necessary for me to take this all in.

I stand in the doorway for a long moment, not quite certain what to do now.

After waking up on that flowerbed with amnesia, my first intention had been to get to a save location and try and figure out what was going on. After learning the story behind the monsters living in the Underground I had sworn to myself that I would set them free. I haven't yet conceived of a way to do that, but I'm sure I can find a way.

The point is that I don't know what I should do now. If I want to free the monsters, I have no choice but to push forward. On the other hand, my memories are nearly entirely gone and I don't as of yet have a full grasp on my abilities as a Magus. Wouldn't it be smart in these conditions to remain with Toriel, at least for a little while, until everything that I have lost comes back to me? Going ahead like this is just asking for issues further down the line.

More importantly, and much more selfishly, though...

My vision grows blurry, and I rub at my suddenly wet eyes. Why does the thought of having a home, a place I can return to after each day, strike such a powerful cord within me that it almost moves me to tears? Why do I feel such a powerful desire to accept the offer, even though I know I shouldn't?

After drying my eyes, I turn away from the room and shut the door, placing my staff up against the wall and leaving it there. Maybe if I talk to Toriel I might be able to make sense of these contradictory emotions.

No, no matter my reasoning behind it, I can't stay here. If I am to become a Hero, not to mention free the monsters, staying and living here with Toriel is not an option. Even if the very notion makes my heart warm up, that live is not for me. No matter how much I wish it to be. No matter how much I might desire it.

Passing back through the entranceway, I find myself in this house's living room. Like I had expected and have seen so far of the rest of the house, the living room is small but cozy. There's a wooden dining table large enough for a whole family straight ahead and a large bookcase placed up against the wall on my right that had its many shelves stuffed to the absolute brim with books. Beside said bookcase there are a variety of gardening tools placed in a rack. On the other side of the bookcase there's a fireplace that had a fire crackling away merrily in it, casting a warm glow on Toriel who's sitting in a large, comfy looking reading chair, her eyes on a book that she has in her lap.

Looking at Toriel, I stand frozen on the spot. She looked so content sitting there that the thought of disturbing her, especially with something that might distress her made me writhe on the inside. And yet, I know I have no choice. Swallowing and crushing my apprehension underfoot, I walk toward Toriel, every step feeling like a death sentence.

"Hello there, little one!" Was Toriel's cheerful greeting as I come to a stop beside her reading chair. I absently note the pair of reading glasses perched on her face, making her look all the more motherly to me. "The pie has not cooled down yet. Perhaps you should take a nap? You have had long and tiring day. Some sleep would do you some good."

"I'm not tired." That was a blatant lie and I knew it; despite not being injured in any way, I felt weary right down to the marrow of my bones from this physically and emotionally taxing day, and in any other kind of situation I would have blanched at the fact that I had just lied to Toriel, but considering the fact that I was about to throw her sincere offer to take care of me back in her face in order to pursue my dream and in order to set the the monsters free, I couldn't bring myself to care overly much.

This was going to hurt for the both of us.

"Look, Toriel, I..." taking a deep breath and hardening my heart, I continue on, "Can we... talk for a moment?"

Toriel shut her book and laid it down on her lap. She smiled brightly at me. "Of course, my child. What is it that you want to talk about?"

Looking at her smiling face, I almost falter, but I remain stubborn. "It's about me staying here. I'm sorry, bu-"

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, my child, but there's something I really want to get of my chest first before we continue, if you don't mind."

Cut off midword, my mouth slams shut just as I am about to inform Toriel about my intentions. "Uhm, okay. Go ahead, then, Toriel."

Reaching out, she delicately rubs my head, her tone happy and cheerful as she suddenly starts airing her heart to me. "I just want you to know how glad I am to have someone here." I could feel my chest constrict painfully at those words. "There are so many old books I want to share. I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot. I've even taken the liberty to prepare a curriculum for your education. This may come as a surprise to you, but I have always wanted to be a teacher."

There was a short pause, a mangled mess of emotions clouding my SOUL. It took all my effort to not lose my composure.

"... Actually, perhaps that isn't very surprising," Toriel admits somewhat sheepishly. "Still, what I am trying to say is that I am very glad to have you living here with me."

Again, there was a short moment of silence. Having said her piece, Toriel removes her paw from my head.

"Thanks for being patient, my child, and allowing this silly old lady to speak her mind for a moment. Now, what is it that you want to tell me?"

"When can I go home?"

Toriel's words had turned my mind to mush. I could barely think, the emotions her words and actions had invoked in me having robbed me from almost all conscious thought, my entire being seemingly filling up with an all overpowering sense of guilt and want. Guilt because I fully intended on crushing her desires in order to fulfil my own, and want because I wanted nothing more then accept what I was being offered and stay with her.

And as said guilt and want warred for supremacy within me, those words suddenly slipped out. That hadn't been quite what I had been intending to say, since I didn't know if I even have a home on the Surface in the first place, but they nonetheless conveyed what I had wanted to tell Toriel.

Even to my currently deactivated Eyes, I could plainly and painfully see how Toriel's SOUL gave a sudden, terrible lurch followed by a constant, insistent throbbing.

"What?" Toriel had frozen, and my guilt intensified even more at the thinly veiled horror and panic that could clearly be seen on her face. "This... this IS your home now."

I open my mouth again, preparing to crush both her and my own wants. Toriel quickly tried to distract me.

"Um... would you like to hear about this book I am reading? It is called '72 Uses for Snails'."

Shaking my head, I take a step toward Toriel, and try and tell her as firmly as possible over my own aching heart that this home wasn't for me. My ideal and my promise to all of the monsters demanded it of me.

"Toriel... I'm really sorry, but... I can't stay here..."

"Um... How about an exciting snail fact?" I winced at the at the thick emotions in her tone. "Did you know that snails... sometimes flip their digestive systems as they mature? Interesting, huh?"

Clenching my fists in frustration at how difficult Toriel was making this, I try my best to remain firm. "No, Toriel, I..."

I noticed the tremor those words invoked in Toriel's limbs and how her lips quivered minutely, in sadness or in anger, I couldn't tell. In that moment, I literally believed that I was the scum of the earth, and it felt as if my SOUL was breaking.

"No!"

My eyes widened in horror and my lips closed with a click as suddenly Toriel's SOUL, the very culmination of her being, gave such a violent throb that for a moment it almost seemed as if it was going to collapse in on itself. The white sphere darkened in a literal sense, slowly turning from white to grey, the energy making it up swirling angrily, the SOUL itself seeming to writhe in agony, as if a lethal poison had invaded it and was killing it from the inside out.

Toriel's clawed fingers were digging into the hard cover of the book in her lap, and her lips moved but no sound came out as she tried to form words after her shouted denial.  
With a thought my Eyes turn on and I gaze into her SOUL, using the opportunity to find out what the hell is happening to it.

I recoiled. When I had seen her SOUL with my Eyes active shortly after fighting Flowey, I had noted the deep seated sadness and heartache that was buried in the very depths of it. Despite my lack of knowledge on the SOUL and how my Eyes functioned, it was obvious to me that the heartache that had been engraved onto her very SOUL, much like a scar on skin, had been old and buried. It had constantly been there, and it was definitely still effecting Toriel, but she had moved past it for the most part. Whatever event in the past could have put such a mark on her SOUL, Toriel had clearly moved on, despite the ache being constantly present.

But now...

Now said heartache had flared up, red and raw like a recently reopened wound that had scabbed over. What flowed from that open wound, that heartache and despair, looked and acted just like poison to her SOUL, slowly but surely contaminating it.

And as I continued to watch on in horror, her SOUL continues to slowly grow darker and darker, the heartache overwhelming and filling her SOUL entirely.

It was a horrifying and unbearably ugly spectacle to witness. Seeing the very essence of someone being subverted and corroded by such poison, especially from this sweet and motherly figure who wanted nothing more then what was best for me...

It's something that I can't let go.

Reaching forward, I gently pry the book out of the Toriel's death grip and lay it aside.

"My c-child," Toriel stuttered in surprise at my action, and her eyes widened as I climb unto her lap and hug her tightly around the waist.

"Just," I begin to say, and I hate how vulnerable I felt in that moment. Nonetheless, I hug Toriel tightly. "Forget what I said, okay?"

After a moment, Toriel's arms hug me back, tightly securing me to her, as if she was afraid I would disappear if she let go and I was her very lifeline.

I relax in her embrace and twisted slightly in her grip, turning my head just enough so that my still active Eyes are trained on her SOUL.

To my relieve it had settled down. The sphere was still throbbing, but it was clearly a lot calmer now, and the grey color of her heartache was slowly disappearing, as if it was being washed away by my mere close proximity to Toriel.

I settle in her embrace. My earlier thoughts on my amnesia were still valid, but that was a mere rationalization, I knew. Toriel was clearly fostering some kind of great trauma and pain from something in her past. Something that made me leaving extremely hurtful to her, to the point that it actually was a danger to her mental health.

Emiya Shirou couldn't in good conscience leave someone in such pain by themselves, no matter the reasoning behind it. Though I knew that my ideal and my promise to free the monsters made me staying here with her forever impossible, I would at least stay long enough to find out what ailed Toriel and help her get past her demons.

This I swore to myself.

But that could come later. For now...

I tighten my arms around Toriel and close my eyes, slowly dozing off. Toriel's warmth quickly lulled me to sleep, and I lost consciousness to the sound of her gentle breathing and the crackle of the flames in the fireplace.


End file.
